Nightmares in Paradise
by SailorSaiyan93
Summary: Their journey over, the five dinosaurs thought that they had come through the fire and made it to paradise. Yet one night shows that more than physical wounds were carried with them into the Great Valley. On this night of unrest, they find themselves turning not to their families they searched for...but to each other. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

Note: Hello, my friends, my friends, hello! I guess you can tell what I've been watching. Yes, I admit, whenever I'm depressed or on edge (which is becoming rather common), I tend to dabble in things from my childhood. This time, the Land Before Time series struck me and struck me hard. I ended up watching a few of the movies, episodes of the TV show, and some clips of the original movie, as I can't find it online. I noticed a comment on one video that read as this: why don't any of these kids have PTSD? They straight up murdered a guy! Oh Don Bluth, you dark minded son of a gun. That's why I love you so. Which got me to thinking: these are young children that have faced many life threating situations, lost family members, AND were being continuously stalked by a crazed T-Rex throughout their journey. I'd think I'd need to check into some therapy. Plus, I got to reading about Sharptooth himself, and believe it or not, in the novelization of the movie, he's even WORSE! In the junior novel, he's basically portrayed as a serial killer with a superiority complex, and it makes it clear that he's hunting the characters out of nothing but petty revenge. Ducky, Petrie, and Spike are on the hit list solely because they are associated with Cera and Littlefoot, and he sickly toys with them for fun. Not to mention, when he finds the entrance to the Great Valley, it says he 'sniffed the air with evil joy'. Yeah…this got me thinking, which got me to writing this. I might write something more lighthearted (I may have to with how dark this is) of this series in the future, but please tell me what you think of this!

Land Before Time © of Universal

He stood, mouth agape and deep brown eyes widened to their capacity. They had found it: through dehydrated lands and burning mountains, they had finally found it! The lush, fertile landscape before Littlefoot was indeed the land his dearly departed mother spoke of, both in body and in spirit, the land they all had hoped and prayed for.

Speaking of the others…

"Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike! Over here!" the young Apatosaurus shouted, his ears eagerly anticipating the growing volume of their footsteps, soon to be by his side to view the paradise they had struggled for.

Nothing.

"Guys?" he called again, going closer to the rock tunnel he had just exited, his sense of sight now searching for any sign of his four companions.

THUMP…THUMP…

Footsteps. His eyes grew wide. While a spark of excitement filled his entire being for a second, the large, all encompassing shadow gliding across the rock wall having only for it to malform and deteriorate into the purest, more primal variety of fear possible. Whatever splinters of the young child's mind that hadn't been consumed by dread and apprehension began to piece together some shreds of hopeful scenarios. He couldn't fit through the tunnel…it was too small. Maybe the others were merely hiding from him…yet why would they? They…HE knocked HIM into the water! He's sitting at the bottom of the lake, drowned and dead! There was no way that he could-

Whatever possibility Littlefoot could process next was quickly made of no worth as the tunnel's top split open, the creature dwelling inside being set free. The deep green, one-eyed Tyrannosaurus Rex roared, deafening the Longneck's ears before he found the good sense to duck behind some nearby rocks. Sharptooth sniffed the air, his nostrils taking in the various variety of scents emitted by the dwellers of the lush, green valley, a sickening smile curling onto his lips. Before Littlefoot could even get a word out to protest, the behemoth predator, completely unnaturally, leapt high into the air, a resounding echo of the force of his landing resonating throughout the entire plain, seemingly almost every creature present in the Great Valley ceasing whatever they were preoccupied with and eyeing the intruder with the same terror that had gripped Littlefoot.

"NO! STOP-" the Apatosaurus screamed, he loosing his footing and tumbling down the rocky terrain, the jagged stones bruising and cutting through his dry, scaly skin on the way down.

It took a few moments for his vision to return to him, yet upon having it once again, he wished he hadn't. Sharptooth was going on a rampage, his large, vicious maw chomping down and tearing through various denizens of the Valley, the once green land being bathed in freshly released, hot and wet coat of red. The expression on the Tyrannosaurus's face made it all the more horrific: his large snout was twisted into a tooth bearing, gleeful grin. Littlefoot even noticed that he was not even stopping to consume his kills; he went onto slaughter the next hapless dinosaur that came into his line of sight after the one he was currently preoccupied with fell by his jaws. He was eviscerating these creatures for the sheer pleasure of seeing them die.

He believed he couldn't take anymore, until two large, fallen forms caught his eye. "Grandma! Grandpa!"

Upon hearing the young child's anguished, yet all-too-familiar screams, Sharptooth turned to see the trembling, sobbing Apatosaurus slowly backing against the rocky cliff he had fallen from, the carnivore's smile growing even larger as he approached the little pest that had managed to blind him not just a day before. Not only did he just score a fantastic sporting ground, but now his vengeance could be taken as well! Littlefoot's eyes watered, the Tyrannosaurus Rex slowly yet steadily approaching him, well aware he had nowhere to go or run to.

"M-Mother! Help me!" he hollered, his legs giving out from under him and he now almost seemingly kneeling before the massive predator, tears continually streaming down his cheeks.

Sharptooth's grin ceased for a moment, he sporting a confused expression. Yet this only bought the young Longneck just a few more spare seconds as the carnivore leaned down towards him, white fangs lined in rows glistening with red.

Then something met Littlefoot's ears that he didn't fathom even being possible.

"She can't help you now."

He spoke; he had a voice…Littlefoot wished he hadn't. The voice emitting from that large, muscular throat sent tremors down the Apatosaurus's spine. He didn't think such a voice could exist, such a cold, horrid, nearly demonic in nature, low and raspy, savoring the terror he was giving him.

Then, he lunged forward, jaws open and ready to capture their prey.

"AHHHH!"

Littlefoot shrieked, eyes wide open and face contorted in fear. What met his eyes was not the hot, wet throat of the predator, but the calm, starlit sky of the Great Valley, the greenery still surrounding him, completely untouched with any drop of red.

"A dream…just…just a dream…" he weakly croaked, not even fighting the streams of fresh, hot tears exiting his eyes.

"Littlefoot?" he heard an aged, male voice ask, his Grandpa lifting his head to see his grandson greatly distressed.

"Oh, Littlefoot…" cooed his Grandma, the elderly Longneck gently rubbing her head against his far smaller, trembling form. "What's wrong dear?"

"I…I'm sorry…" he whimpered, sniffing. "I…I didn't mean to wake you…"

The couple looked to each other, nothing needing to be said before each came to the same conclusion. "Did you have a bad sleep story?" Grandpa inquired, his grandson gritting his teeth to contain his weeping.

"Y-yes…I…I…"

"It's alright, dear." Grandma urged. "Cry. Allow yourself to cry. It'll be better."

Whether he had been given 'permission' to do so, or because he could contain it no longer, he was unsure, but Littlefoot released the saddened, fear-ridden sobs held captive in his elongated throat. Both of his grandparents gently nuzzled their bawling grandson, their own hearts breaking at the sight of such a young individual suffering through such pain and having to go through such an ordeal in the first place. They had heard of what he and the other children had gone through to make it to the Great Valley, thinking it was a miracle that they had managed to make it without one limb missing or serious injury on them. Yet as they were presently seeing, they did carry wounds in with them, just ones that couldn't be seen by the naked eye.

Littlefoot didn't know how long it was when he began his tears or when it ended, yet upon having gotten them under reasonable control, his face was sore and his eyeballs, though very moist, felt as if they were lit aflame. Along with this came a new sensation. He longed for…companionship. He stood up, his legs still unsteady, but he found his footing and began walking forward.

"Littlefoot, where are you going?" Grandpa asked, curious of his grandson's actions.

The young Apatosaurus looked to them, a few stray tears escaping, but his voice now more in his control. "I…I need to walk for a bit. Is…is that o-okay?"

"Of course, dear." Grandma approved. "Do what you need to."

He gave them a small smile, continuing his journey to...wherever his legs to carry him. He needed some time to think, yes, but though he felt it unreasonable at this hour, he needed companionship. Not the companionship of his grandparents, but…others…

(A/N: Apparently Sharptooth was voiced by Frank Welker, so whenever he speaks, just imagine it sounding something along the lines of Dr. Claw or any other of his villain voices)

She didn't know how long she could keep this up! All four of the Triceratops's legs were topped at the maximum speed they could muster; yet Cera still continued to feel herself steadily slipping off the rocky interface quite literally hanging over the edge. She turned her eyes towards the Apatosaurus lagging behind her, both of their eyes daring not to look back at the set of teeth furiously chomping away eager to catch them. She recognized this scenario instantly: any moment, his mother would knock Sharptooth to tumble into the canyon below, she in turn snatching them both up and laying them on solid ground. More and more seconds went by, both she and Littlefoot steadily losing their battle against gravity and the tumbling stones, the wrathful Tyrannosaurus Rex still attempting to bite and hopefully catch a leg or tail in his maw.

"GAH!"

"LITTLEFOOT!"

Sharptooth had finally done it. The Longneck's tail was ensnared in the predator's jaws, the slab of rock keeping them finally giving way and all three were sent tumbling down below. Cera felt her entire body twist and turn, flipping and without any choice but to let the forces of gravity toy and violently thrust her body upwards and down until she felt the equal and opposite reaction of the rocky floor reverberate against her body, bouncing upon impact and jolting her firmly shut eyes open. Her deep green eyes shifted around the area she had landed in, her young mind unable to comprehend where she exactly was.

From what Cera could piece together from her still throbbing dome head, she was in a deep cave or cavern of some kind, the once dismal, orange evening sky being replaced with a ceiling of stone. She attempted her best to stand on her feet, yet the fall had apparently left her limbs burning and straining in pain, her legs wobbling and barley able to keep her upright. But…if she was alive…then perhaps…

"Littlefoot?" she asked the barely visible area surrounding her, hoping and praying for the Longneck to answer her.

"Littlefoot?!" she asked again, raising her volume and tone.

Still nothing.

"Littlefoot-"

THUMP…THUMP

Something was coming…or rather…someone.

Cera's already battered body was shivering upon her hears being greeted with deep throated, low snarling directly behind her. She told herself not to look, she DEMANDED that she not look, yet her eyes still continued to wander, her head turning until…

"ROAR!"

The Threehorn belted out a horrified scream, her legs forgetting their pain and rapidly carrying her forward, Sharptooth following suit. Cera darted down the winding corridors of the cave, tunnels twisting and swirling and seemingly impossible angles, she being forced in a constant battle with both her own growing fatigue and gravity, all the while the carnivore trailing was more determined than ever to catch up to his prey. Unfortunately, though she knew this fact, yet kept it out of her mind the best she could, it was all for naught. She couldn't hope to outrun him. Even worse because upon coming to the what she assumed to be the furthest she could go, she was greeted with a terrible surprise. A slab of stone met her at the end of the tunnel. She knew it didn't matter if she tried to go through the other tunnels surrounding her, as she could see they all were blocked off. There was literally, no way out.

Sharptooth steadily walked towards her, she even in her moment of doom still attempting to put on a brave face, displaying her one developed horn and her tail upward in an aggressive fashion.

"I-I'm warning you! You…you better back off or else! Littlefoot will-"

The Tyrannosaurus Rex roared to silence her, a sadistic smile curling on his large lips. He unhinged his jaws and slightly opened his gaping maw, Cera's eyes catching the form of a small shape pierced by the several rows of teeth.

"No…"

He chuckled, the once headstrong, proud adolescent now reduced to a shriveling mess, now taking her place curled up against the wall. He leant downward, one red, piercing eye cutting through her mental defenses and nearly reducing the young child to near insanity in one swift gaze.

"He can't help you now."

Then he opened his jaws wide, rushing forward and cementing herself a place to join the young Apatosaurus as both his victories and his nourishment.

"NO!"

Topsy's eyes immediately shot open upon the shrill screams of his daughter piercing through his slumber, his adrenaline pumping and horns bared, a tactic that had allowed to access the Great Valley in the first place.

"Cera?" he inquired, his now recently one and only daughter huddled up in a small patch of dirt not too far from his larger form.

He knelt down and with every ounce of gentleness he could muster, nudged the young Triceratops, she gazing towards his with moist, green eyes.

"Why'd you scream? And…" he observed a few stray drops escaping from her eyes. "Are you crying?"

"N-no! Of course not!" she croaked. "Threehorns don't cry!" whether by instinct or some other hidden element, she didn't know, but Cera dashed away from her father, her weeping mixing in with her panting as she darted off.

"Cera! Come back here!" he bellowed out, yet she didn't heed him, having already set her mind to whom she wanted to see.

The second the behemoth predator hit the water with the rock assisting gravity in plunging him into the lake, Ducky felt she SHOULD have felt some form of victory. The monster that had been perusing and harassing them was gone! They, four young dinosaurs had just defeated a Sharptooth! Yet the number of them present reminded her why triumph couldn't be felt. Petrie, at the last second, had been caught in the carnivore's jaws and dragged into the fathoms below with him, presumably to share the same fate. Her friend…the little flier that had just gained his wings…

No! She wouldn't let this happen! They would ALL go to the Great Valley! Together!

Before anyone of her friends could protest, the Parasaurlophus leapt forward and dove downward, hitting the water and her species best trait being put to work. Though she knew how to swim, she soon found that the pressure of the water was taking its toll on her rather miniature body, the ringing in her ears becoming louder and her vision becoming more and more strained the further she dove.

Nevertheless, Ducky continued to dive. She dove down, down, down, until her aqua irises caught glimpse of a small form struggling to free himself from a large Tyrannosaurus Rex's jaws.

'Petrie!'

She hurried her speed, she happily coming over to the flier with fattened cheeks, obviously in desperate need of air. She needed not his frantic motions to take him to the surface, she going to work on dislodging him from Sharptooth's bite. She pulled and pulled, her muscles exerting all their strength until she felt him give way, the flier quite literally falling into her arms. Clutching him close, she darted upwards, the need for air now affecting her too, her lungs becoming more and more desperate for oxygen that lay in wait at the top.

"Ducky!" she heard Littlefoot and Cera cry out upon seeing her break the surface, Spike only giving her a wide, open grin.

"Do not be worried!" she called back, displaying the precious cargo she carried before swimming over to a small area of land. "Petrie and I are safe! Yep, yep, yep!"

She held the equally sized Pteranodon close to her, she then realizing a missing element that had been present before.

Petrie was no longer holding her back. In fact, his 'arms' merely hanged limply by her sides, she being the only thing supporting his weight.

"Petrie?" she questioned, she looking at the flier's face.

The fledgling's expression was, for lack of a better term, expressionless. He bore nothing: no joy, no relief, not even the opposite emotions. He almost looked as if he were unconscious…or…

"Wh-what is wrong Petrie?" Ducky inquired, gently beginning to shake her friend. "I…I saved you. You can wake up now."

He didn't heed her pleas. In fact, he didn't do anything. No twitch, no movement, nothing.

"You…you cannot be…"

The swimmer was being forced to process the state of the flier, tears now filling her eyes. This made no sense! He was perfectly fine when she found him in the water! He was more active there than he was now currently on land! How…how could this be happening?

"No!" she cried, shaking his lifeless body. "No, no, no! I saved you! You cannot do this! I…" she ceased, now settling to hold him close to her, he slumped over onto her sobbing form. "I want you to come with us. To come…with me…"

"Ducky! Look out!"

She didn't even have a chance to look as a large splash of water resonated throughout the area, a large, towering form now looking down on the swimmer and her recently deceased friend, she still not letting go. Sharptooth stared down at her, the small green reptile trembling with fear, her small frame wrecked with tremors. He looked to the dead Petrie, growling in satisfaction. Two for the price of one, he could make this work.

"Petrie, wake up!" she pleaded; shaking him violently, though she knew that it would do no good. "Please! Wake up!"

"He can't help you now." Sharptooth retorted, raising his vision towards the three stationed above him, signaling to the trio that they were next.

Then he thrust his open jaws downward, Ducky clenching her eyes shut and clutching Petrie close to her, a small sense of satisfaction whelming up inside her that she could join him, even if it was in a fashion such as this.

"PETRIE!" her throat expelled, the name of the flier catching the attention of her sisters and parents, all of which quickly made their way over to the distraught Ducky.

"Ducky? Honey?" her mother called out, concern dripping from her voice.

"Sweetheart, what's the matter?" her father came up, immediately scooping his daughter into his arms, a few of her sisters petting and gazing at her with fearful eyes.

Ducky looked up at her family, save for her new brother that was still sleeping the night away. She envied him greatly at that moment.

"I…I am okay. I…" she hopped out of her father's arms, she giving him a smile of gratitude. "I need to talk a walk. I will not be long." Upon hearing no protests, she left, her feet dragging behind her and her head hung low.

She needed comfort, yes, yet she would not find it here…she needed him. She needed all of them.

The moment he felt his grip slip, Petrie knew he was in trouble, but when he felt the black, adhesive substance below, he knew he was doomed. He cried out for the Triceratops having already walked off, obviously not even hearing his cries, thanks to him already feeling himself becoming submerged in the tar. He then shouted for the other's names, though he knew that they were more likely than not in their own predicament as well.

"Ow! Ouch! It burns!" he shrieked, his coated wings flapping in reflex.

He knew it was no use, even if he DID miraculously learn how to fly in that instant. The black tar, he assumed, was obviously hot as they were walking by a set of burning mountains, yet the constant assault to his thin, sensitive skin constructing his wings was unbearable! It was common knowledge to those who had wings that any pterosaur's most precious yet venerable aspect about them was their wings. Their tissue was thin for them to ride the air, flexible and while more durable than the neutral observer would assume, they were packed and loaded with nerves, the slightest change in the breeze being detectable, and now those instruments that would one day allow him to grace the skies were searing and burning with heated, black, syrupy liquid.

"Little-cough! Littlefoot! Ducky! Spi-cough-ke!" he then came to another horrifying realization: he was sinking.

The substance was weighing his small body lower and lower, the only parts of his body now afloat being his head and foreclaws. He wished he could scream, holler, anything to signal his need for rescue from the naturally made death trap, yet not one soul was in sight, and the lower half of his beak was already submerged…

SPLASH

Something pulled him under! What?! No living thing could live in such an environment such as this! Nothing!

Petrie opened his eyes by pure reflex, shocked and surprised the tar had not the same effect it was having on his wings or skin in general. Something…something about this tar didn't seem natural to him…

Looking downward, he saw his answer.

Sharptooth was holding the flier by his right hindclaw, his talons somehow managing to avoid being crushed by the carnivore's enormous jaws. This made no sense! What and how could he be here?! The Tyrannosaurus Rex, whilst a fearsome predator, was NOT a creature created for the water or likely to swim in any substance, let alone burning tar!

Yet those thoughts were immediately banished from Petrie's mind as he then began dragging the flier down with him.

"He-gurgle!" he regretted his decision instantly.

The second he opened his beak, the black, burning substance entered into his mouth, his throat now set aflame and clogging with the tar, chocking him and his reflexes in attempting to expel the foreign element only resulting in allowing more to enter his windpipe. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but to continue to gurgle and choke out muffled cries and pleas for help, Sharptooth tightening his grip on his foot.

"They can't help you now."

Petrie looked towards his captor; eyes wide in horror at both the voice of his captor and that such a beast could even speak their language. His bewilderment was shattered in an instant as Sharptooth dove down, dragging the drowning flier down into the pitch black, lightless fathoms below…

"No….no…"

"Hey, Petrie?"

"No…me no want…"

"Petrie, wake up."

"PETRIE NO WANT TO DIE!"

"PETRIE! WAKE UP!"

Upon the more the audible voice reaching his ears, the fledging Pteranodon jolted upwards, wings spread and ready to soar away from the danger. Yet the only thing he found was his head knocking itself against the ceiling. The laughs of his plethora of siblings echoing throughout the small cave brought him to the realization that he was the furthest place away from any tar pit.

"Alright, alright! That's enough out of all you!" his mother's voice ordered, his brothers and sisters ceasing their giggling at his 'graceful' demonstration of his newly found ability.

Petrie's mind still continued to replay the images he was attacked with in that terrible vision, the small pterosaur wrapping his wings around himself and huddling in the corner of the nest, his siblings and mother now noticing the newly forming tears developing in his eyes.

"Hey, Petrie, are you okay?" one sibling, a sister inquired, coming up to her brother and gazing at his trembling form with worried eyes.

"Yeah, are you okay?" another, a brother followed, all of his siblings now exchanging worried looks with each other, his mother's being the most worried.

Before he could get a word out, he felt his mother scoop him up into her grasp with her beak and carry him outside, away from the nest and at the entrance to their little hideaway in the rocky wall of the protective barrier around the Great Valley. She set her youngest down, he immediately going to her side and burying himself in her indigo wing.

"Oh darling…" she scooped him up, holding him close and gently nuzzling him with her beak. "What's the matter? Bad sleep story startle you?"

"Y-yes, Mama…" he replied, attempting to keep his already broken voice semi understandable. "Me…me get stuck in…in black sinking sands before me get to Great Valley and…and…" his moist eyes then caught sight of someone making their way away form their resting place, a very familiar someone. Someone he needed to see.

"Mama, Me go out for a bit. Oh! Uh…p-please?"

"Of course. Do what you need to sweetie."

His mother's approval lifted his spirits at least slightly, Petrie being released from her hold and his wings flapping and riding the night air, the breeze cool and crisp.

Upon settling in for the night, Spike had thought that everything went surprisingly well. They had managed to find one lone tree with a decent amount of green food, he of course gorging himself on his own pile. Afterward, it got dark and they all, even Cera, slept by each other in calm bliss with full stomachs. Yet the moment he opened his eyes…he knew something was off.

One factor being that no one was present. Even in his, self-admittedly, one track mind, he knew that they were more likely than not just going off in search of more food. The second factor was that the only thing providing him company was a single Treestar, Littlefoot's Treestar. While he quite literally was born yesterday, he knew that the Apatosaurus never, ever, EVER let the precious leaf out of his sight, or off his person unless need be. He did not ask, as he felt that talking in general was merely a useless activity that makes one's tongue flap and wiggle words too difficult for him to muster, plus, actions spoke louder for him anyway, but also because he knew better than to pry into their 'leader's' personal business. Given how he held the leaf so close, even he knew that the significance was more than just an emergency supply of food, hence why even with his appetite, he didn't even let it into his mind of how delicious it looked. Not once.

With nothing to do or eat, the semi-newborn Stegosaurus felt the only thing he could do was the first and only option that came into his mind: go out and look for them.

Spike began his trek from their resting place that night, lazy, brown eyes surprisingly tuned and eagerly looking for the other four members of the unusual herd. He doubted he could call out for them loud enough, so he bothered not to, his four legs carrying him further along his invisible path to seemingly nowhere. Seemingly nowhere was the best description of his journey, as his feet steadily began to grow sore, his legs straining themselves and growing exhausted, and even his eyes almost in a constant battle with the need to sleep. Ultimately, his body could take more abuse from the elements and he fell flat on his stomach. His…unusually flat stomach…

His eyes jolted wide, going to observe himself. He didn't know how, but he had grown thin. Unnaturally, and sickly thin. His stomach was bent inwards, his olive green skin quite literally hugging his apparently nearly non-existent muscles. His rib protruded outward, pushing against his skin, and he then just realized how sunken and thin his throat had become, the spinal cord now visible from his skull to the tip of his tail. Spike began to make worried, frightened whimpers, yet what met his eyes next is what him holler in terror.

Bones. Before the hatchling Spiketail were four sets of skeletons, collapsed in the dirt and sand already beginning its work in burying them. What he at first was horrified of, he soon felt his heart twist into utter sadness.

Littlefoot was lying on his side; his skull having already developed cracks and smudges on the ivory remains. Cera was on her back, her skull flipped upright and the rest of her bones scattered all around her in an unorganized mess, as if she could not get the rest of herself upright when she was still alive. Petrie was also on his back, his ribs splayed like an open cage, his head upside down and one eye socket broken. Finally, the last skeleton made his already tear filled eyes released their stored contents. Ducky laid on her side, not far from the remains of the Pteranodon, curled up, tail to head, as if she fell asleep. The emaciated Stegosaurus nudged the skull of the remains of his 'big sister', his mouth expelling gurgling, hiccupping sobs. He didn't know how long he stayed there in his sorrow over the discovery of the remains of his friends and sister, yet he didn't wish to continue. He was already nearly dead; why not join them in death?

As he closed his eyes, he felt the ground vibrate around him. He fearfully believed it was yet another earthquake, yet upon further observation, he realized that the vibrations were…rhythmic. They were getting closer and closer as well…

Suddenly, an immensely dark shadow covered him, he being alerted to the owner by a deafening roar ringing through his ears.

Sharptooth, jaws dripping with droll towered over Spike, a sickening smile curling on his lips. Spike instinctively rose from his resting place and had his legs carry him forward. The Tyrannosaurus Rex followed suit, snapping and chomping whenever he got close. Spike cursed his weakened state, as his hind leg gave way and sent him tumbling into the burning, desert sands, head first. He attempting to stand, yet his legs were worn down to the point they could not support his weight any longer. Turning his head, the once sprinting predator was now casually walking towards him, one red eye peering down at him, two terrified brown ones looking back.

"They can't help you now." He stated, the Spiketail only weakly murmuring before the carnivore lunged forward, Spike shutting his eyes with only the hope that it would not be too long or painful.

"GUAH!"

Ducky's siblings and parents looked to their adopted son, he letting out a similar cry to their daughter. All of them went over to the shaking, unnerved Stegosaurus, his 'mother' rubbing his back in a comforting fashion.

"Spike, honey? What's wrong?" she inquired, her 'son' looking to her with moist eyes and merely shaking his head before his eyes began to dart around.

"What is it? What are you looking for?" his 'father' questioned, the Spiketail rising and his searching growing more and more frantic, he now studying each of their other daughters.

All were present…all but one…

"Ducky went to take a walk." One of them stated, Spike immediately taking off away from them all.

Neither of them stopped him, nor called him back. They knew what, or rather, who he needed right now, so who were they to stop him?

Littlefoot let himself stop at a small hill, the moon visible and shining bright, fat and full, the lesser light almost seemingly watching the Valley itself. His walk didn't do much to clear his mind, the horrific images still plaguing his subconscious and he knew well that they would not let him sleep tonight, possible for a good while. He needed them. He needed all of them by his side, but they were all still probably asleep and who was he to rip them from their families after they had just found them?

"L-Littlefoot?"

'That voice…"

The Longneck looked behind him, a downcast, sullen Threehorn steadily approaching him, her green eyes catching the moon's beams and reflecting the bright white hue off them.

"Cera?"

Note: Guess this won't be a one shot after all. I put too much in, I know, but I just can't help it! Don't worry, there WILL be closure after all I put them through, and as Don says "Kids can handle anything as long as it has a happy ending". Read and review, please! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Hello! This is probably going to be my shortest story ever as I estimate that only one more chapter after this one is needed. And to Night Prowler, hopefully I don't disappoint at tugging at the heartstrings…

Cera nodded, her four legs steadily walking to the surprised Longneck.

"What…what are you doing up?" he asked, surprised yet also inwardly joyful that he had found at least one of the few he wished to see.

"I…I couldn't sleep." The Threehorn admitted. "You restless too?"

Littlefoot nodded, gazing out to the sky. "I…it seems that even though we made it…" he sighed, his eyes steadily becoming heavy, yet he was in NO mood to drift off. "We're all still afraid."

She at first decided to keep what played out in her mind's eye to herself, yet upon hearing the Apatosaurus's veiled confession of a similar incident, her barriers had been broken. She couldn't keep it to herself, she didn't have to anymore, and at least that was what she was hoping.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke. "You saw Sharptooth, didn't you?"

Littlefoot's sagging eyes shot open, he turning his stretched, species trait of an appendage towards her, shocked that apparently his night terror were not solitary.

"Y-yeah. I saw Sharptooth."

"Well, then…you go first." The Triceratops hurriedly blurted out, still working up the courage to even put her experience out in the open.

"Well…" Littlefoot started, swallowing hard as the pieces of memory he recovered were far more than he wished to remember. "It…it was when I found the Great Valley." He let a steady flow of oxygen travel through his long windpipe. "But instead of you and the others coming…he came instead. He…" his legs bucked, his head now hanging as he attempted to compose himself to the best of his ability, though the composure of a child his age was of limited amount. "He started killing everyone."

Cera made her way towards him, her headstrong, tough exterior gone for now as she began to look upward and the tearful Longneck.

"He…he wasn't even eating them! He was just killing them because he could! It was like it was a game! He heard me scream for my mother…and…and…" he began to choke on his developing tears, the Triceratops beside him beginning to reflect his growing distress as well, her own experiences flowing back into her mind. "He told me she couldn't help me, and then…I woke up."

His control had been stripped from him once again, his strains to keep his sobbing under control doing little to contain them, yet there was reassurance that Cera apparently had no comment nor remark on his display of his fragility. She had no right to do so…and truthfully, she also felt she had no right to be the one to comfort him.

"You…" Littlefoot sniffed, the tearful release he had when he had the nightmare having reduced his amount of tears greatly, along with how much contortion his facial muscles could take before it was becoming painful. "You want to tell me yours now?"

The Threehorn's eyes shot wide open, cursing and despising that her once perfectly constructed speech was falling apart before she even got started, her body trembling at the thought of what she experience in those moments of sleep. Yet she knew that she was unable to keep it contained if she was to ever sleep again.

"I…well, WE…" she mentally kicked herself, her tongue becoming twisted. "Do you remember when we were running away from Sharptooth on the cliff?"

The Apatosaurus bit his lip, his flat molars grinding on his skin until he felt it tear.

"We were running, and he caught you, I think. We…we fell." She halted her speech, closing her eyes for a few moments, the images plaguing her even in the waking world. "We fell…and I think I landed in a cave. Sharptooth found me and chased me…he…he got me up against a wall. I…I told him to back off. And I saw he…he…" she shut her eyes tight, feeling her eyeballs moisten and becoming wet. She despised this, this display of weakness! What would her father say? Threehorns don't cry! Threehorns shouldn't cry! Yet despite the repetitive mantra she recited again and again, she was losing that iron will her father declared her species possessed.

"He what, Cera?" Littlefoot prodded. Though he knew that she ultimately had to confess on her own accord, yet if only a few days had shown him anything, it was that the girl beside him was not one to lower her defenses.

Cera could contain it no longer. "HE HAD EATEN YOU!"

"He…he had eaten me?" he unsteadily asked, his small being gripped with terror yet relief that where they all were proof they had escaped such a fate.

"YES! HE ATE YOU AND HE SAID YOU COULDN'T HELP ME! THEN HE TRIED TO EAT ME!" she threw her forelegs around the neighboring reptile, he stumbling backwards at the force of her embrace, her tears wetting his shoulder as she let her tears freely fall.

"It's alright." He told her, wrapping on foreleg around her yellow body. "Grandma says its better to cry."

Cera couldn't help but unconsciously follow, her face buried in the Apatosaurus's shoulder to silence her sobbing. That was one element she could control. After a few moments of this, she felt the streams of salty tears ending, her voice coming back to her. "You-your Grandma's smart…"

"I like to think so. She and Grandpa are the oldest ones I know, so I know they're smarter than me."

"…She's not stupid. She never was."

Littlefoot's support was stabbed by a pang of curiosity. Who wasn't stupid? Thinking more on her statement, memories began to flash before his eyes…the comment the Threehorn made of his mother… which led to the both of them, engaging in a scuffle with each other before he found himself being reunited with the rest of group engulfed in tar.

"I'm sorry I ever said that about her." She told him, her face contorted in the purest form of regret and guilt Littlefoot saw. "And I beat you up too…you…" she sighed, turning her head from him. "You don't have to be my friend. I…I don't blame you."

She expected him to leave her there, to take her suggestion and never make contact with her again. She expected it, yet what she felt was the complete opposite. She felt the Longneck's head lay on her head, the area behind her crown providing and area for him to gently nuzzle the Triceratops.

"Cera, I'm not mad at you about that anymore. I forgave you for that a long time ago." He whispered, she still in shock at his display. "And if it wasn't for you…Sharptooth probably WOULD'VE eaten me. Eaten all of us."

"Littlefoot…I…I don't understand."

"Because, I'll admit it, you ARE stubborn, hard-headed and, well, MORE than a little proud. But you're not bad because of that. If anything, I guess that's what makes Threehorns strong."

"Y-yeah, I…I guess so." She leaned in closer, rubbing her dome against the crook of his elongated neck. Undeserving as she felt, she couldn't deny that she needed it. She needed him, more then ever now since she had made it with him to the Valley.

"I'm glad that you ARE my friend…because…if you weren't, then…" she sighed, her mind wandering to her relative in the Valley with her, her lone relative. "Then I'd be alone."

"What do you mean-"

"Littlefoot? Cera?"

The Longneck's question was put on halt upon both of them hearing a young, usually chipper voice ridden with sadness address them. Both Cera and Littlefoot turned to see a downcast Ducky approaching them, her aqua blue eyes shifting around as if she was searching for something.

"What are you doing up?" she asked. "It is late. Yep, yep, yep."

"Couldn't sleep." Cera replied, both she and Littlefoot sensing something was plaguing the swimmer as well.

"Me neither. No, no, no." she came closer, her eyes still looking and searching. "Have you seen Petrie?"

"Who say my name?"

Ducky shot up, turning around to see the fledgling Pteranodon flapping towards them, he instantly being tackled upon landing on the grassy bed below by the swimmer.

"Petrie, you are alright!" she exclaimed, her embrace tight and constricting.

"Me glad…to see you too Ducky." He stammered, her grip becoming a little straining on his lungs. "But…you…you hugging too hard."

Ducky released the flyer, the cool night air being taken in by his now less tightened chest, yet he soon felt her throw herself around him again, though her hold was far less in force. He at first began to question her actions, yet he couldn't get one word out upon feeling her burry her face into his chest, he then swearing he felt his beak turning red. As odd of an emotion as the green dinosaur was emitting and transmitting to him, he was finding that he was actually enjoying it.

"You are okay." She muttered, continuing her rubbing and nuzzling. "I was worried you were…" she felt beads of tears begin to form in her eyes. "That you were…"

He was unsure of what was the best option to comfort her, yet if his mere presence was beneficial, then perhaps…

"Me okay, Ducky." He replied, embracing the swimmer in the same fashion, his wings veiling her backside in an almost protective shield. "Don't cry. Me hate to see you cry."

"Did…" Littlefoot started, his eyes shifting at whether or not he felt it right to pry. "Did you guys dream about something too?"

The moment his statement left his tongue, both flyer and swimmer turned their heads to the Longneck, dread and terror etched into their features. He immediately regretted his decision, yet upon seeing the two release each other and come forward, their horror steadily softened into general unease, reminding themselves of where they were and whom exactly they were with.

"I had a nightmare, I did…" the green skinned reptile started, battling with her already high-pitched voice to not begin to quiver. She looked over to Petrie, taking his fore-claw in her hand. Though he was right beside her, she needed more evidence, literal 'physical' evidence that he was still with them. "Sharptooth took Petrie down with him in the water…" the flyer shuddered, she then gazing upon him with guilt-ridden eyes. He shook his head and urged her on. "But this time, I dove in to save him…"

"And…you not save me?"

"No, I did!" she exclaimed, taking the Pteranodon by the shoulders, her tears forming once again. "I saved you! We both swam up and we were okay but…" she was steadily losing control, droplets clouding her vision the longer she started at him. "But you…you…" she could contain herself no longer, once again throwing herself onto Petrie and encasing him in a tight hold. "You would not wake up! I tried and tried, but you would not wake up! Sharptooth said you could not help me! And…and he…oh Petrie!" she saw no point to try and restrain her flooding emotions, her throat expelling pained wails and screams of anguish, the subject of her ordeal being one of the few comforts she was graced with a the moment.

Whatever words to ease her current state had promptly been ripped from Petrie's throat. He had expected her recounting of the terrible vision to be unnerving, yes, but such startling similarities between what she was forced to endure and his own experience…it more than unnerved him: it petrified him to his very soul.

"Ducky…"

"I…I do not want to let you go right now. No, no, no." she softly whimpered, he not daring to ask such a thing of her.

"No, Ducky. Me mean…me see things you see too."

Through the little swimmer's twisting agony and tsunami of emotions constantly hitting her wave upon wave, a small glimmer of curiosity shined through the depths, coming to the surface as she softened her embrace, repositioning to her hands resting on the flyer's shoulders and she gazing intently in his large, spherical eyes. Petrie looked towards the Longneck and Threehorn who had been silent the entire time, their stares wide and silently beckoning him to speak.

"Well…" he began his once silent, unmoving tongue now swerving up and down as he found words slowly, yet surely exiting his beak. "Do you remember when we all split up and…and me fall in black sinking sands?"

Cera bit her lip, nodding, and her head downcast in shame. She hadn't heard his cries, she could be honest about that, yet what took place beforehand, she still couldn't comprehend why she was even allowed in the company of the three dinosaurs present. Littlefoot rubbed against her cheek, reassuring her once again of his forgiveness, of which she seemed to slightly intake before the fledgling continued.

"Well, it hot and it burn bad but…"

"But what, Petrie?" Littlefoot asked, he looking as if he was confused.

"Sh-Sharptooth pull me under."

"But Sharpteeth do not swim." Ducky replied.

"I know! That why it so scary!" Petrie cried out, feeling his own eyes becoming moist once again. "He say no one would help me…and he drag me down in the dark…down, down, down, down!"

"Petrie, it is alright!"

Ducky was aiming to merely offer him a hand on the shoulder yet she found the flyer wrapping his wings around her, his small, almost akin in size to hers body shivering and trembling in fear.

"Me…me so scared. Me never been so scared."

"We're all scared, Petrie." Littlefoot sighed, Cera walking forward and gently rubbing the Pteranodon's back with her one horn, he rather surprised at such an affectionate display from her.

"Yeah. I…" she swallowed hard, her pride being an ever driving force even now. "I'm scared too."

"Me three." Ducky interjected, joining in the soothing, repetitive strokes Cera was performing on his back, his trembling having been severely reduced.

"Mmm fmm."

All four instantly turned away from each other, heads swiftly turning in apprehension to then mentally begin kicking themselves at whom had been the one to startle them. Spike had managed to come and find them all, none of them even detecting his presence, something of a remarkable fear for a Spiketail of his…girth. Upon seeing his 'sister' present, he happily licked her cheek, she unable to contain the giggles at the sensation he was causing.

"Hee hee! Hello, Spike!" Ducky greeted, her optimism not lasting long upon a strong possibility entering her mind as to why he was here. "Did YOU have a scary sleep story too?"

Her newly acquired 'brother's smile faded in an instant, his maw trembling and his eyelids lowering, only able to nod in response to her question. In truth, he had arrived far earlier than they all had suspected. He had arrived around the time Cera had found Littlefoot; he just opted to remain hidden until he could work up the courage to come forward. As Ducky and Petrie then joined them, all four sharing their unwanted, fearful nightmares with each other was both relieving, yet also slightly disheartening. He was gaining knowledge on the inner workings of the four individuals that he had traveled with to the Great Valley, Littlefoot his unwavering composure and resolve, Cera, her vulnerability, Ducky displaying a heroism he found most admirable, even if it was just in her sleep, and Petrie his utter helplessness and fear. Yet he found himself saddened by one factor: they told of their experiences to each other, they could speak of them. He could not. He could not put into words how he found himself suddenly to be deathly thin, how he had found all of them reduced to bones, and how Sharptooth taunted him with the current state of his friends before finishing them off…

The Stegosaurus lowered his head, a few stray tears escaping his ducts and casually running down his olive green skin. He briefly opened his eyes upon feeling a small form nuzzle against his face, Ducky holding him and caressing his cheek.

"It is alright, Spike. We know it was scary for you too."

"Me know how Spike feel." Petrie added. "Me not like what happen either."

"It's okay." Cera stated, her forehead meeting the tearful Spiketail. "I guess…even Threehorns need to cry sometimes…"

Sensing he was also needed, Littlefoot stepped forward, he too now comforting the last of the five, his head resting on Spike's underdeveloped back.

"We're here, Spike." He cooed. "We're all here…"

"You don't think he went too far, do you?" Grandma questioned, her husband shaking his head in response.

"He's probably just strolling around. Besides, he and the other little ones just made it here. If anything, it's good for him to get knowledge of the territory."

She pondered his words, her aged eyes closing and her elongated throat exhaling. "Perhaps your right. I…I just can't help but be a little…I guess anxious is the best word."

Grandpa nodded in agreement. "Me too, dear. It's a miracle that he and those four other children had even survived the Earth Shake at all, let alone travel here on their own."

His wife turned her gaze towards the night sky, the Lesser Circle and its many lights stretching out over the entire Valley as far as her eyes could see. Even as a hatchling, she had always pondered as to what those thousands of lights actually were. Her mother told her once that some thought they were balls of fire burning in the sky, some thought that they were the eyes of flyers that had been caught in the dark abyss above, their eyes having attained an unnatural glow and the only thing to be able to peer outward and see what they left behind, yet she remembered what her mother told her, and what she told her daughter. She told her that from behind those lights, the eyes of those who came before them stared down on them, the lights actually holes in the expansive sky so that they could see their loved ones from wherever they were. She couldn't help but wonder now…what 'she' thought as she peered down from her resting place…

"Cera!" she was broken from her state of calm, both she and her husband now directed towards a loud, gruff voice piercing through the still, gentle air. "Cera, where are you!?"

Grandma and Grandpa peered down to be met with the image of a grey and rather frantic Triceratops nearly tearing through some thick greenery with his namesake, his eyes wide in concern and unease.

"Mr. Threehorn?"

Upon hearing the elderly Apatosaurus's voice, Topsy ceased his sprinting through the bush, he turning to see both of them gazing down at him, undoubtedly curious as to what had him in such a state. "What do you want Flathe-, eh, Longneck?"

"Well…" Grandpa started, reminding himself of WHOM he was dealing with at the moment. "You seem to be running around rather…well, erratically. Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's just peachy. My daughter wakes up screaming bloody murder and runs off, now I have NO idea where she's gone! Nope! Everything's just fine!" Topsy bit his lip, sighing upon realizing his anger, though still present, was being directed at the wrong individuals. "I…she just took off. What has she got to do that she can't come to me for?"

"You too?"

All three heads turned to view two Swimmers casually walking towards them; both having their curiosity peaked at this new piece of information.

"You mean your little ones have gone off too?" Grandpa questioned, Ducky's mother nodding in response.

"Spike of course didn't say anything, but I don't think I've EVER seen someone so young have a face like that…" her husband interjected, she following suit.

"Ducky woke up screaming for one of her friends, I think it was the flyer…"

"Petrie? My Petrie?"

Longnecks, Threehorn, and Swimmers all looked upwards to witness a blue, female Flyer coming in to land, she settling on a small area in front of the four.

"Why yes, I think it was one of yours." Mrs. Swimmer confirmed, Petrie's mother clasping her claws together, a worried expression crossing her features.

Grandma saw it as her time to interject. "Our Littlefoot's gone off too. He said he needed to-"

"Take a walk?" Mr. Swimmer interrupted, the aged dinosaur nodding in response.

"Why yes. I…" she gazed at each parent, their stunned faces saying it all. "I suppose whatever's happened isn't an isolated incident."

"You tired?" The Triceratops asked, though she more or less slurred her question out, her tongue even feeling too exhausted to form words.

"No." Littlefoot responded, though he was now sitting on the grassy, soft bed of green underneath him, the blades bent over and laying flat to cushion his resting place. He actually began to want to go out and search for some more sturdy, sharper grass at the moment.

"I…" Ducky started, though she was interrupted by a yawn deciding then to escape her throat. "I am not tired at all. Oh no, no, no, no."

Petrie was closer to defeat than his companions, his body being reduced to laying on his stomach, head cocked to the side and eyelids nearly closed. "Me no sleepy either."

Spike was concentrating on the few blades of grass he had in his mouth, his teeth monotonously and rhythmically grinding and chewing on the strips of the abundant flora surrounding them, his admittedly favorite activity not doing anything to fight his growing drowsiness. Though if his friends weren't going to allow themselves to succumb to their exhaustion, then neither would he!

Yet all five inwardly knew that their resolve to not sleep wasn't derived from a competitive contest they set for each other, nor was it a declaration of them being older and more mature then they actually were. No, they all knew it wasn't just one another that kept them up, yet it was indeed ironic that they all shared the same sentiment.

The Apatosaurus's falling eyes and slumped neck turned to see that they were clearing fighting an unwinnable battle, yet he too did not wish to go out without a fight. Yet he couldn't deny that the tightly packed bunch they had formed did looked rather warm against the cool, night air. Sensing he was close, Cera immediately pulled him close, her crown rubbing against his elongated neck, the smoothness of the dome actually proving to be surprisingly relaxing and soothing.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked, her motions only making him more tired.

"Need something to do. Spike's already out."

He looked over to see she was indeed correct: the Stegosaurus had indeed succumbed to sleep, his maw open and his tongue hanging out slightly to the left side. Littlefoot chuckled slightly at this, gazing over to Ducky and Petrie, one of who was fiddling with a small twig, ranging from lightly beating it on the ground to then settling for holding it to his chest as his wing lost strength to keep toying with it. Cera had then eased on her 'massage' on his throat, the movements becoming smaller and less active, thus indicating she too was close to drifting off as well.

"Maybe…maybe it will not be bad at all." Ducky yawned. "Maybe Sharptooth will not come again…"

"But he could." Petrie replied, though still as fearful, his lack of sleep was driving logic from his brain as well. "But…me SOOOOOO tired."

"I wonder…" the swimmer began again, Petrie already taking roost on Cera's head, the area behind her crown a good place to rest his head, she too exhausted to protest or even care. "What if there is a way to make a monster in your dream go away?"

Littlefoot's drooping eyelids shot wide open for a moment upon hearing that. That was…a surprisingly revolutionary, but reasonable idea. It was possible, perhaps, yet…how would they even go about doing such a thing, should they come across 'him' again in their dreams?

"Well…" Cera started, she feeling the world around her slipping away, knowing she had to talk fast. "My father said to me…and my sisters…" she paused, Littlefoot taking notice that her eyes began to water at the mention of her siblings, the growing moisture slipping back into her ducts however. "That if you see a monster in your dreams…you can't be scared of it. Being scared gives it power." Littlefoot, though he too was growing closer and closer to sleep, was mentally noting everything she was saying. "You have to look it in the eye…and say that you take back…any power you gave it. Then…you tell it to go away…"

"Cera? Cera?" she didn't respond, the Longneck beside her seeing her eyes had finally shut themselves, her breathing steady yet slow.

Ducky made her way onto the Threehorn as well, nestling beside the slumbering Flyer and wrapping her arms around him, a visible smile curling on his beak upon sensing her presence, stick still tightly clutched however.

"Goodnight…Littlefoot…" the Swimmer softly moaned, she soon joining her winged companion in the realm of dreams.

He could deny it no longer: they all had lost the battle to stay awake, the fear of encountering Sharptooth again not even being a strong enough deterrent to keep their eyes open. Yet Cera's words intrigued him. He didn't need to question it, he KNEW beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Tyrannosaurus Rex was lying in wait for them, his hunting ground now their very minds, yet his true self, his physical self was rendered useless courtesy of them. If his assumption was correct, and he DID merely have to wait for them to fall asleep in order to torment them as before, only now the field of acts he could commit and atrocities they could be exposed to even greater than before…

Littlefoot knew what he had to do. Looking towards the expansive, light filled sky, he closed his eyes, hoping she would hear him from beyond the blanket of stars hanging overhead, or wherever she was.

'Please…if this is the only way…then please, show me how.'

He could fight it no longer, the moment he closed his eyes, he knew he was sealing his fate. The Longneck's senses steadily began to dull and he felt the sensations surrounding him becoming near unnoticeable, his unconscious mind pulling him in further and further until everything linking him to the waking world had been severed, Littlefoot finding himself being drawn back into a immersed, still slumber.

"And that's how Littlefoot and…" Grandpa lowered his head as they walked, everyone quiet. "Our daughter was taken from us. Though, we are more than thankful he is here and with us now."

Everyone was left awestruck, Topsy keeping his head low to the ground and away from view whilst every other parent gazed outward in the direction they kept going.

"Where was his father? Oh, if you don't mind me asking." Mrs. Swimmer inquired, she fearing that she stepped into territory she shouldn't have treaded into.

Grandpa angled his head down, eyelids sinking low. "He…" he sighed. "Bron said he was going to look for a safer place for us to dwell, until we could surely make our trek to the Great Valley. But…we haven't heard from him since. Truth be told, neither of us even knows if he's…still 'with us', so to speak."

"Oh, I see." She responded, she drawing nearer to her husband walking alongside her. "I remember that…all Ducky asked for was just a few more minutes in a small spring we found. They…they were all having some much fun. I remember Webby kept complaining about Aqua dunking her under." She giggled, her face growing sullen at reminiscing of what came afterward. "Then…everything just started to shake."

Her husband interjected. "I tried to get to you all, but I just remember being tossed around on my back. You yelling something about how Ducky shouldn't get too close to the waves…and then she started being pulled down the current. By the time we both got in there…she was gone."

Petrie's mother let a slightly pained groan escape her beak, Grandma motioning to use her back as a resting place, of which she quickly obliged, her wings lazily lying flat as she too roost. "I'm sorry. I suppose it's just the worry that's getting to me."

The elderly Longneck shook her head. "No apologies needed. You're not the only one."

"I'm…so proud of my little Petrie." She started, clasping her claws together. "I remember when he fist hatched…the first thing he tried to do was fly! Everyday, he went out to practice. Climbing trees higher and higher until his siblings and I had to snatch him up if he fell." She halted for a moment, wondering if it was wise to bring someone else into her tale. Yet, he DID play a pivotal role in her hatchling's early life. "Pterano even said-"

"Pterano!?" The grey Triceratops bellowed. "Why are you even speaking his name?!"

"Because we're all being honest with ourselves! If our children can do it, so can we!"

"You can't be serious. Do you even KNOW what he caused?! Why half of us didn't even make it here?!"

"I should hope so because he's my brother! I'm more aware than ANYONE here of what's happened! This has NOTHING to do with what happened, so if we may be so kind as to shut our mouths and let those who are talking finish!"

Topsy went silent, everyone else taken aback by the fury the Flyer echoed in her statement. The Threehorn begrudgingly accepted defeat, settling with grumbling to himself.

"As I was saying, Pterano even said that he'd grow up to take after his 'skills' as he said. If anything…I suppose it's something of an odd blessing he was around…" she lowered her head, wings wrapping around her as if to shield herself from the rest of the group. "After my husband…never came back, he stepped in and saw the children on and off again. I remember he told me that a rockslide caused by the Earth Shake crushed the nest. He said that he got my babies out in time. But…Petrie was nowhere to be found."

He hated it, outright despised it, yet Topsy found guilt seeping in through the cracks of his hardened, thick-skinned conscience. The mentioning of how she had lost her husband, her significant other…even if her children were still with her…he couldn't deny that he felt, of all things, kinship with her. He, one who STILL held somewhat firmly to the 'separation' of species that he had to compromise both when the Shake happened and now…he couldn't stop himself.

"You still have them."

Petrie's mother unshielded herself, wiping away the fallen tears from her ducts. "Wh-what?"

"Your children. I'm…" he bit hard on his lip, the intensity of his inner struggle increasing; yet he continued to stand. "I'm sorry about your husband…but your children are still with you. Be grateful for that."

She was caught completely off guard by such a display, especially from him of all dinosaurs, she taking a few moments to contemplate whether or not what she just heard had actually happened. Yet his comment wasn't overlaid with his characteristic gruffness or harsh tone. He sounded…empathetic to her situation. Then she remembered his daughter, and how before…she had observed he had three, along with a female beside him.

She didn't dare ask. No one did, everyone making a silent agreement with one another to keep their questions, however burning and prodding, to himself or herself. All they needed to know was that he began with a wife and three girls, only to end up with just one.

"She's still like Alberta."

Everyone turned towards the Triceratops, all caught in complete shock that even after their agreement to not speak of it, here he was doing it for them!

"Tribi was something of a chatterbox, and Ava wanted to know anything about everything. Rhina…little Rhina was the oldest but she was so shy and scared of everything." They all continued to listen, sensing he was steadily breaking. "Cera was the last…I told Alberta that each of them had a piece of her in them. Tribi could attract others like a butterfly to flowers, she was a talker too…Ava had such an expansive, intelligent mind, just like her…Rhina was so mild and gentle, not even willing to step on a bug. She was always so…easy with the girls. She knew EXACTLY what to do." He stopped for a moment to breathe, his intake of oxygen rattled and trembling, yet he pushed on. "Cera…Cera is strong. Alberta would take nothing from anyone, and I remember she making her mark on more than a handful of Sharpteeth in her younger days, as she's told me."

Grandpa granted him a warm grin. "She sounds wonderful."

Topsy nodded. "Oh she was. She was beautiful. So beautiful in fact…she decided to take the girls to a watering hole that I found." He stopped for a moment, feeling the moisture begin to develop more, yet he still fought to keep it contained. "We all went…even a pack of Fastbiters."

No one could contain the gasps emitting from their throats.

Still, he continued. "Me and her…we fended them off at first…but we hadn't eaten in so long, we weren't at our best…I heard a scream and saw Tribi was the first to be snatched up." He cursed himself repeatedly, his speech now suffering and his words being reduced to stutters. "Alberta went after them…then Ava was carried off. Rhina hid under me. But…one of them saw her hiding place and it dragged her out." He was stammering now, one lone tear escaping. "I chased it and knocked her out of it's grip but…but Rhina didn't move." He took in a strained breath. "I heard Alberta scream, all of them were on top of her. I ran to her but…she sounded so weak. I saw Ava and Tribi lying not too far from her, not too different from Rhina. I ran to her but she said…" his legs bucked, finding himself falling to the ground, burying his head in the dirt as he couldn't contain his tears anymore. "She said…'You need to go. Who…who'll be there to greet Cera when she gets there?' It…it's so funny. I…I had thought Cera was the first to be lost. She…she had more faith in her than I did…"

The pair of Longnecks, Swimmers, and Flyer ceased their journey for the time being, all going to surround the fallen Threehorn, his emotions finally breaking through his exterior and embracing the freedom that they had so desperately needed. Grandpa couldn't help but join him in his tearful display, visions of his own child flooding his mind.

"She's…she's all I have left!" Topsy croaked, throwing aside his pride and letting his wails of anguish pierce the silence around them. "There's no one else but her!"

"I know." Grandpa softly replied. "He…he is all we have left as well…"

He was weightless, floating amidst the black, endless abyss, his senses reduced to only what his mind could allow in his soon to be entered subconscious. Even with his impaired connection to general awareness…Littlefoot sensed that he wasn't alone.

'Littlefoot…'

His vision of his mind's eye hadn't yet returned to him, yet he instantly recognized the voice piercing through the ambient darkness.

'Dear…sweet Littlefoot…'

"M-Mother?"

The Apatosaurus began to grow frantic, his eyes not allowing him to see what was in front of him, yet he knew she was near him!

'I told you before…I'm with you even if you can't see me…'

Of course, how could he have forgotten? Yet even still, he couldn't deny that he hungered desperately to see her once more. "Mother…I made it. We made it, to the Great Valley."

'Yes…I am so…proud of you…'

As he felt himself slipping further and further, he found that his sight had returned to him, he once again stationed atop the rocky cliff overseeing the legendary paradise he could now call home. Yet a pang of familiarity shot through him. His dream…his nightmare…it started in this exact spot, in the exact same way.

"Mother? Is…" he looked back towards the cave he had exited from to come to the Valley. "Is he still here?"

'Yes…he is here.'

Littlefoot hung his head low, his ears now listening intently for the thunderous tremors to signal the predator's presence.

'But now you know what to do.'

"What do you mean, Mother?"

THUMP…THUMP…

The Longneck froze, backing away from the mouth of the cavern, the footsteps distant, but undeniably belonging to him.

"Mother, why?! We killed him! Why is he still after us?!"

'Because you gave him the power to do so…you gave him your fear…'

He was running out of space to retreat to, his deep brown irises catching glimpse of a dark, large shadow beginning to grace itself on the stone walls.

"What am I supposed to do, Mother?! If he didn't leave us alone before, then he won't ever stop now!"

'Yes…he won't stop. But you're not alone, Littlefoot."

"What do you mean?"

'You have them…do you remember what your friend said?'

His friend…his mind counted and surveyed each of them…yet it was not an image, but a voice that came to his mind.

'If you see a monster in your dreams…you can't be scared of it. Being scared gives it power.' Of course! How could he have forgotten so quickly? Cera's voice continued to ring through his memories. 'You have to look it in the eye…and say that you take back…any power you gave it. Then…you tell it to go away…'

Her voice stopped, he now feeling his own body bounce and reverberate at the carnivore drawing ever closer.

'Gather them all with you. Stand together and banish him…'

"But I don't know where they are, Mother!"

No reply.

"Mother? Mother! Don't go!"

ROAR!

Littlefoot turned to see Sharptooth had torn through the rock passage, he leering down at the young dinosaur with sickening glee. He leapt forward and what had tormented the Longneck before happened once again before his eyes, he losing his footing and tumbling downward. Sharptooth slaughtered the residents of the Great Valley without a care or thought, his jaws tearing through flesh and ending whatever life had been unfortunate enough to become ensnared by them. Then, as before, he turned to him. Littlefoot backed up against the cliff, having been stuck where he had been before.

"Mother! Help me!"

Sharptooth narrowed his eyes, the one the Longneck unintentionally damaged seemingly gaining a bright, unnatural glow to it. "I thought I told you before…" he growled, his voice having not lost the ability to send chills up his prey's spine. "She cannot help you now."

"I…" Littlefoot started, replaying his mother and Cera's words in his mind. "I…I'm n-not afraid of you."

"No?" he snarled, opening his mouth to display the trait of his species.

Littlefoot cowered before the towering predator, yet he then noticed something…off. As Sharptooth bore his fangs and open maw at him, he saw someone in the back of his throat. Studying it closer, he then saw it was as if the throat was a window of sorts to somewhere else. He saw Cera, backed up against a cave wall, warning someone to stay away or else…

He then had a hunch. He at first completely dismissed it, but then he remembered…this wasn't exactly 'reality' as he knew it. Sharptooth was ready to thrust his fangs down on his prey, yet he found him attempting something he did not intend: Littlefoot leapt into his mouth. The Longneck jumped forward and into the predator's jaws, he feeling the hot, wet saliva of his tongue quickly take him further down into the throat…yet closer and closer to the scene displaying Cera.

"Littlefoot?!" he heard her exclaim, he now apparently inside a large, cavern of sorts, the Threehorn immediately gripping onto him. He looked back and Sharptooth bore the same expression of bewilderment as Cera. From his calculations…Littlefoot had jumped into the throat of the Tyrannosaurus Rex to only then come out of the same throat, only in the opposite direction.

He looked to the Triceratops beside him, the behemoth tormenting them snarling and growling, ready to pounce upon them both. It was then that he then remembered his mother's words.

'Gather them all with you…'

Note: Another cliffhanger! Sorry, but 13-15 pages is the limit for me. I don't want these running on for too long. Please read and review, and give feedback on what you like/didn't like, whatever!


	3. Chapter 3

Note: Hello! The next chapter is here, and ready for viewing! Truth be told, I'm actually trying to work on two fan fictions at once, alternating between this and my Mega Man one, so hopefully it is at least of decent quality. On with the chapter!

"L-Leave her alone!" The young Apatosaurus hollered, the Triceratops beside him still attempting to retain whatever shreds of prowess she had left in her small body.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex sneered, both eyes opening and showering the two children in a bright, iridescent hue of red.

"Seems, you're right, Threehorn. Flatheads DO have small brains."

Cera leapt forward, the insult distributed to her defender enlightening her anger. "Don't you DARE call him that!"

"Why? You did the same."

Her sudden spurt of bravery and fearlessness was stripped from her in one instant, her insides now twisting and writhing in the agony of her previous behavior towards her friend. Littlefoot didn't dare take his eyes off Sharptooth, a strange detail then being taken into account: around the eyelids, his dark green skin seemed to be almost…peeling off. Focusing in further, he indeed saw that the skin was peeling; yet the substance underneath was what puzzled him. Black, texture-less layer of something he could not even describe lay underneath, yet he was sure that he did not WISH to see what lay underneath.

"You don't deserve to have him, do you?" he snarled, Cera biting her lip and finding her head lowering, his words resonating with her more and more. "Threehorns don't play with Longnecks, remember? What would your father say?" Another knife, she could visualize it now: his gruff, stern eyes glowering down at her.

"Don't listen to him, Cera! You're not-"

"And why ARE you suddenly more compassionate? Is it because now you understand what true loss feels like?"

Whatever words had been stored in Littlefoot's throat died there as well, he turning to the miserable, whimpering Threehorn nearly stripped of any will she had left to fight. Then he remembered her comment from earlier.

'If you weren't my friend…then I'd be all alone.'

"You have no one beside you." Sharptooth continued, Littlefoot having had enough.

"She has me!"

"You're father's disappointed in you."

"He is not! He loves her!"

"He wishes they could be there with him instead of you. They knew to stay with their own kind."

She could contain it no longer, Cera let herself fall to the ground, muffled sobs emitting from her trembling form. Littlefoot went to her, nudging her side in attempts to get her to rise.

Sharptooth growled, rising as high up as the cavern walls would allow, Littlefoot frantically searching down the array of paths around them for an exit. "Don't worry…" The Apatosaurus caught a glimpse of something: a small, ray of light seeping in from the small tunnel at the right. "I'll be sending you both to join them AND your mothers!"

The predator lunged forward, Littlefoot using all his strength to push Cera out of the way and into the tunnel, she quite literally being tossed forward by her companion. Sharptooth knelt down and chomped, biting and gnashing his teeth in attempts to catch the two dinosaurs hidden away in the darkened pathway.

"Cera!" Littlefoot started. "Don't listen to him! You ARE my friend!"

"I don't deserve to be…"

"We all made mistakes! I didn't believe you about Sharptooth, and I left you guys after we fought! Remember? I said 'we never wanted you with us anyway'! I was wrong to say that to you!"

"Daddy probably WOULD want my sisters more than me-"

"Stop it!" he shouted, seeing he made the Triceratops flinch at his voice. "Look, your father loves you, you know that. He would NEVER stop loving you. Neither would your sisters or mother." She looked up to him, the struggling predator outside having apparently ceased his attempts to catch them, the outside deathly silent.

Littlefoot looked her in the eye, brown irises locked on and piercing through her deep green. "They're with you, even if you can't see them."

"Wh-what do you mean by that? How can they be here if I can't see them?"

"I…I don't entirely understand it either, but…I felt her. I felt her with me…" as the Triceratops looked on, she felt a deep, resonating element behind those words, as if her young friend was speaking from experience. He snapped back to the situation, being reminded of his mother's words spoken to him not too long ago. "She told me I need you. I need all of you with me."

"Your mother told you what?"

"I need you all with me. We have to fight him Cera."

"Fight him?! But…he's unstoppable! We can't-"

"I don't how we're going to either, but Mother said we need to all be together or he'll never stop this! He won't ever-"

Littlefoot had no chance to finish, his words cut through by a shrill cry of pain as he felt the carnivore's teeth sink into his tail. Cera sat there horrified as she watched him quickly dragged out from the tunnel, the predator having found enough space to squeeze his maw in and snag the Longneck by the one end he gave no thought to keeping out of reach.

"Littlefoot!" Cera dashed out, forgetting whatever fear or depression that had gripped her before, seeing her friend lying on the ground with a bloodied tail, Sharptooth leering over him in a devilishly twisted excitement. "Leave him alone!"

She didn't know how she had managed to, or why she even thought she could, yet the Threehorn found herself charging forward, her four legs propelling her towards the towering predator. The sight of seeing the Longneck in danger…it brought forth such a surge of energy to her body. An overpowering sense of strength and agility, nothing like she had ever felt before, if anything, it made her envision her father. His long, strong horns and sturdy body, perfect for taking on any danger ahead of her…and defending those precious to her. The moment came: her head leaning down and her crown outward, she struck the Tyrannosaurus Rex's abdomen, sending him tumbling backwards and his temple smashing against the ceiling of the cavern before he found himself on his back.

"Hurry! I think I can bust us out of here!" instantly, both young dinosaurs rushed back into the small tunnel, Cera soon gaining speed and her four legs feeling as if they could practically lift off the ground any second.

Her head slammed against the stone wall, an unimaginable amount of strength coursing through her veins, she feeling as if she might've possibly had the energy to tear through an entire mountain! She was unsure of where such an amount came from, yet it served them both for the better as the blockade was shattered underneath her newfound power, Littlefoot and Cera now greeted with the roaring, belching mountains of fire. Both of them knew this place well, the Triceratops immediately recognizing the dark, viscous substance seemingly lining the thin, stone paths surrounding them.

'If I'm right…then-'

"Cera! Littlefoot! Du- *gasp* Ducky! Spike! He *cough* HELP!"

"Petrie!"

The Longneck and Threehorn charged forward on the elevated road of stone, not having to go far to find the Pteranodon struggling and flailing around in thick, syrupy tar. From his enveloping prison steadily taking him downward, Petrie heard the repetitive, rhythmic pounding from above him coming closer until his two rescuers came into view.

"Littlefoot, Cera! Me-" he dunked under once again before lifting his head out of the black substance. "Me SO happy to see you-" his greeting was interrupted by the flyer feeling his body suddenly being jerked downward, the Apatosaurus and Triceratops knowing full well who had pulled him under.

Both dinosaurs leapt forward, diving head first in the tar, their bodies instantly sinking under the surface, surprised that despite the heat radiating from the liquid, it wasn't even slightly warm against their skin. In fact, both of them likened the thickness and general feel of it to ordinary water. Looking downward, they had found Petrie, well and still alive, yet caught in the massive jaws of Sharptooth dragging him further down into the black abyss.

"He-GLUG! GLUAH!"

Littlefoot and Cera dove downward, their legs kicking and battling through the darkened substance to get to the choking Flyer still trapped in the Tyrannosaurus Rex's maw. The further down they dove, however, they found that could not get close enough to snatch him from the predator's hold, his struggles to breathe becoming more desperate and frantic until…

SPLASH!

Littlefoot and Cera saw one, small, green shape swimming rapidly to trapped Petrie, she pulling him from the carnivore's teeth and heading up for the surface. Both became extremely confused, yet the strain on their lungs forced them upward, the difficult dive downwards being nothing compared to their plight to reach the surface. Eventually, however, they hit the separation between air and water, rising from what seemed to be the lake that they had sent the predator to his death.

"Wait…" Cera started, careful to keep her head above the deep, now blue waters. "How did we end up here?!"

"Remember!" Littlefoot gasped, his lungs still requesting air. "This…this is a dream! But…but I think we're being taken to places we need to be!"

"Petrie! Petrie, wake up!"

Both swiftly turned to see the Swimmer shaking the Flyer, desperately attempting to rouse him from his state of unconsciousness. Remembering Ducky's account of her experience, they swam for the shore of the cove, the danger of what was below them still very clear in their minds. The Swimmer hadn't even acknowledged the presence of the two dinosaurs having come to her aid, continuing her work on the inactive Petrie.

"Wake up, Petrie! He will come up soon!" she begged, her shaking and hollering doing nothing to rouse him from his state.

Littlefoot thought back to when they had first escaped Sharptooth to find the Flyer struggling and pulled underneath the tar. He called for help, he then gripping and clawing at his throat…

"That's it!" the Apatosaurus declared, lightly pushing Ducky to the side and dislodging her from Petrie, laying him on his back, a small bulge on his stomach.

Placing the sole of his foot on the Pteranodon's abdomen, Littlefoot pushed down, the bulge growing smaller and its contents seemingly moving upward until he viewed it traveling up his throat.

"BLECH! GAAHH!" Petrie gasped, air now able to freely enter his lungs once again, black, thick liquid exiting his throat as he now found it possible to expel and vomit the horrid substance out of his body, ridding him of the foreign element denying him sweet oxygen.

"Petrie!" Ducky exclaimed, throwing her arms around the Flyer, unable to contain her tears. "You are alright! Yep, yep, yep, yep!"

Petrie had little energy to cease her embrace, yet he at the same time, didn't care. If anything, waking up to her heaps of affection after nearly choking to death…it was a rather welcoming wake up call, well, as much as a wake up call in a dream could be.

"Ok, break it up, you two!" Cera's voice rang out, seeing a steady flow of bubbles rise to the surface. "He's coming!"

The amount of bubbles growing and multiplying, the four children ran towards the tunnel leading to the cliff up above…only to be met with a slab of stone. Rushing in the opposite direction yielded the same scenario, all realizing to their terror that there was no way out of the cove. Only one could possibly swim out without need for air for a certain amount of time, and neither one could climb up. Yet they remembered: they had one that could ride the air.

"Petrie!" Littlefoot started. "You got to fly us out of here!"

"Me?!" the Flyer proclaimed, shocked and dismayed at the Apatosaurus's order. "But…but me can't carry all you!"

"Yes you can! Just think you're strong enough to carry all of us, and you'll be able to!"

"N-no! Me not do it! Me can't! Me too small and wimpy to-"

She had been containing it to this point, yet she could hold it no more. Cera leapt forward, getting directly in the Pteranodon's face. "Listen here, beak-face!" she bellowed. "There's no other way out but up, and YOU'RE the only one that can get us there! So start flapping!"

"But Cera, me can't-"

"Don't say you can't!" seeing that her hollering was only having the fledgling further retract in his fearful state, she swallowed her screams and frustrated yells down her throat, trying to bring forth a…almost impossibly gentle touch. "Listen, this…isn't like how it is when we're awake. If you REALLY want or need to do something, then you can do it."

"Cera, me not strong enough-"

"Yes you are. You can be. I saw how you took on Sharptooth to save Ducky. If anything…" she couldn't believe these words were coming out of her mouth, yet he needed to hear this, as she did indeed believe it. "You're already strong."

Petrie's eyes widened to their maximum, taking a few seconds to register whether or not he had just heard the brash, headstrong Triceratops actually compliment a small, feeble creature such as he. "I…I am?" he stuttered, still taken aback by her statement.

She nodded, the rising gurgling and volume of the plethora of bubbles rising to the surface reminding the four of whom they were attempting to escape. "Look, Petrie!" she started once again. "Who's the bravest, strongest one that you know?"

Petrie didn't need to think on her question long. "That easy! Uncle Pterano!"

She smiled, actually pleased that she was able to be the mediator for once. Though she'd gladly pass it off to Littlefoot any day after this. "Okay, so just imagine yourself as Pterano. Everything that Pterano can do, you can do too! In fact, you can do better!"

The idea was extraordinary; he would almost declare it impossible. Better than his glorious, awe-inspiring, fearless uncle! Never! Yet…her words intrigued him. More than intrigued, they soon outright consumed him.

"Me…" he began, looking upward, then to the three gazing intently at him, the small, green dinosaur piercing him with those large, aqua blue eyes. "Me try."

All three gathered around the Pteranodon, Cera taking Ducky by the skin of her neck in her mouth, Littlefoot positioning himself atop her with his legs wrapping around her middle, leaving Petrie to lightly dig his talons into the Apatosaurus's skin and attempt to lift them up. Petrie heaved his chest outward, his small wings flapping furiously and far faster than what was recommended for his species, yet Cera's words were doing him little favor as he simply could not find the strength to lift them all up.

"Me…" he gasped. "Me can't do it! You too heavy!"

"You can too! Just think you can!" Cera scolded, her harshness finding its way back into her speech.

Whatever complaints Petrie had to retort back were swiftly put to rest as the lagoon's waters splashed and rose high, a dark shadow cloaking all of them in its wake. Sharptooth had escaped from his watery holding place, they taking notice that the skin covering his small, two clawed arms had began to seemingly rip, the black, smooth texture from underneath his eyes now matching his arms. No one understood what or why the predator's skin was slowly peeling from his body, yet that was the least of their worries at the moment.

"Fly Petrie! Fly!" Littlefoot commanded, the Tyrannosaurus Rex having spotted his prey.

"Me can't, Littlefoot! Me…ugh! Me not strong enough!"

Cera gritted her teeth, unintentionally biting down on Ducky's skin. "Don't give me that! Flap your wings!"

"ME CAN'T DO IT!"

"Petrie!" that voice…he looked down to see Ducky looking up at him, wide blue eyes pleading with him. "Please try! We will all be caught if you don't!"

"Ducky…me-"

"Why bother?" the deep rumble of the Tyrannosaurus Rex's growl mockingly asked, he now standing right above the four dinosaurs. "You can't lift them out of here."

The Swimmer's usually wide, chipper eyes narrowed in rage. "Do not listen to him, Petrie! You can do it!"

"The Threehorn's a liar. Pterano would not be able to escape me, neither will you."

"Shut up!" Ducky hollered, all three of her companions turning the heads at such an explosion from the small Swimmer, she dislodging herself from Cera's teeth. "Petrie is the GREATEST Flyer ever! He can fly better than ANYONE I've seen, and he is-"

The carnivore had heard enough, swiftly snatching the Swimmer by her foot, she screaming both out of shock and pain. All three cried for the green dinosaur, Sharptooth responding to their cries by flinging the tiny girl against the stone walls surrounding the cove, her body harshly bouncing off the rock before landing in a shallow beginning of the water. He turned back to her three companions, their frightened eyes widening upon seeing she wasn't moving.

"Bigmouth's talk too much for their own good."

Petrie rose from his perch, wings carrying him upward. Whatever fear and anxiety he had present had been ripped from him, sheer rage rushing through his veins. He touched Ducky, their Ducky, HIS Ducky. He dove forward, underneath the behemoth predator and through his open legs, the green Swimmer growing closer and closer to him. He landed and scooped the motionless Ducky into his arms, her face contorted in an expression of pain. Sharptooth roared, turning his attention to the both of them. Petrie took this as his cue, he taking Ducky in his claws and flying back over to Littlefoot and Cera, all the while avoiding the carnivore's thrashing tail and stomping foot.

'Me fly like Pterano…' he repeated in his mind, setting Ducky near Cera who took her in her mouth.

Petrie went up to Littlefoot, taking his place on his back once again. He began flapping once again, straining at the weight he was forced to lift upward. 'Me fly like Pterano…' he repeated. 'Me fly like Pterano…'

Sharptooth was rushing forward, Cera and Littlefoot shutting their eyes, preparing for the worst if need be.

"ME FLY BETTER THAN PTERANO!"

The Tyrannosaurus Rex lunged forward, expansive maw open and chomping down on…nothing. He looked up, a small Pteranodon carrying an Apatosaurus, Triceratops, and a Parasaurlophus through the skies above him, out of his reach. He glowered, knowing well were they were heading next.

"WHY DELY THE INEVIDABLE?! THERE IS NOWHERE YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME!"

Petrie couldn't believe it, he almost didn't believe it entirely: he, the youngest and smallest of his mother's brood carrying two creatures three times his size or more! His wings…though small, they felt as if the air was being bent to his will. Whichever direction he wished to soar, the winds would have to oblige, carrying him to his desired destination. A content smile curled across his beak, he hadn't thought it was possible to feel this powerful, this strong…this confident in himself.

"You okay up there, Petrie?" The Longneck he was carrying questioned, the Flyer nodding in reply.

"Me never feel better! Me feel like greatest Flyer in the world!" He beamed; a sudden thought jolting him out of his zeal. "Oh! Uh, Cera! Is Ducky okay?"

The Threehorn looked down towards the motionless Swimmer caught in her mouth. She was still unmoving, but she was breathing. "Mm hm!" she murmured.

"Oh, right! Uh…Littlefoot, were DO we go?"

"We need to find Spike then…" he halted for a moment. "Then we'll deal with whatever comes next."

Littlefoot kept his eyes downward, whilst Petrie kept his forward, his wings flapping and carrying them all through the winds. They flew for what they had assumed were miles, still no sign of the Spiketail. Cera felt Ducky begin to stir, her blue eyes opening and the haze steadily clearing to reveal that she was high above the ground.

"EKK!" she squeaked, her body curling in a defensive position, yet she soon came to realize that she was firmly clutched in Cera's mouth.

"Ducky!" Petrie exclaimed. "You not hurt?"

"No, I am alright. But why are we so high?"

"We looking for Spike. Littlefoot look for long time."

She gazed down at the earth below them, her head hanging lazily downward, they apparently passing over a large, dusty desert of sorts. She wasn't even keeping her eyes preened and open to search for the Stegosaurus, yet amongst the dusty golden sand, a splotch of olive green caught her eye.

"I think I see him!" she hollered, everyone else then catching the green speck in their vision as well.

"Petrie, fly us down!" Littlefoot commanded, Petrie obliging and steadily letting gravity take them back to the ground, though slowly as a rough landing was something that they hoped they had control over avoiding.

The Stegosaurus had all but given up any shred of hope he managed to hang onto. He had arrived from the waking world in the same place, in the same scenario, and now he was wondering through the endless desert once again, emaciated and lost. Now all he could do was lie on his flat stomach, his head turned to the side and eyelids steadily closing. Though he knew that this was all quite literally in his mind, the simulated agony and pains of hunger and thirst plagued him all the same, along with the gnawing, twisting loneliness of having found his companions to only be separated from them once again. He lost track of time he spent with his senses rendered unresponsive due to the scorching heat assaulting him, yet he could've sworn he felt something life him off the ground…

"Spike?"

He stirred, yet brushed the voice of as a hallucination. Odd that it sounded like his sister.

"Spike?"

That was his sister! Lazily opening his eyes, he found his vision was clouded with…green. A pile of green leaves lay in front of him, yet he surprisingly lifted his head to search for the source of the voice beckoning him, ignoring the delicious greenery before him.

"Spike! You are alright!" Ducky exclaimed, leaping onto her brothers face and holding tightly, he responding by letting her down and rubbing against her side.

Cera, Petrie, and Littlefoot also came forth, he then recognizing the area they were at: a lone tree with green, young leaves amidst a graveyard of old, twisted branches of previously ravaged trees.

"Well, go on!" Ducky urged. "Eat up, Spike!"

With that, the Spiketail happily obliged. He gobbled down the mound in only a few chomps, the small pile already working their magic and reviving his body, his strength returning to him. He stood up once he was finished, viewing that his muscles and fat were steadily growing underneath his skin, his stomach swelling to its usual state and his throat's desperation for food and water instantly relieved.

Back to his old self, Spike rose to his feet and greeted his companions, Littlefoot only giving a small nudge before he motioned for all of them to get moving.

"Let's go guys. We've got to-"

THUMP…

THUMP…

A towering, dark shadow loomed over the five, neither one needing to question whom it belonged to.

"ROAR!"

All five children dashed forward, Sharptooth's jaws chomping furiously as he dashed after, teeth ample and eager to catch one lingerer.

"Don't look back!" Littlefoot commanded, Petrie clinging onto his head, digging his claws into his skin almost about to puncture it. "Keep moving!"

Spike hurried forth, his large muscles aiding him along with his previously gained nourishment, Ducky clutching tightly to his neck as she struggled to keep a good hold on a roll of skin she had managed to snag, leaving Cera to keep the back, she purposefully lagging behind somewhat just in case she needed to put her horn to use. Their legs propelling them forward and away from the predator's jaws, so focused were they all on keeping their eyes positioned on what was in front of them, not one felt the need or instinct to look down…

"Ahh!" Littlefoot yelped, finding the once flat ground suddenly bend from underneath him, a steep slope catching him off guard and letting him tumble down.

He didn't have much visual perception as his vision was currently trapped in a state of constant winds and turns, yet the tumbling Longneck could make out bits and pieces of the environment that hinted to him that they were in a different location. Upon his rolling body coming to a halt, he began to recognize where he was not by sight, but by sound.

"Ribbit! Ribbit!"

In front of him croaked a small, green amphibian, Petrie immediately startled by its trademark sounds and he refusing to abandon his refuge atop the Apatosaurus's head. Upon further observation, Petrie was the only one present with him, Spike, Ducky, and Cera nowhere to be found. "You…" Littlefoot began, knowing well he had seen such a creature before. "Yes…I followed you…" The frog only paid him mind for a few more moments before hopping away. "Hey, wait!"

The Hopper leapt forward, stopped for a second, then continued, gaining a head start on the pursuing Longneck and Flyer right when they were about to have it in their grasp. Going further along the trail, both of them noticed that the area around them was steadily changing, briars and thorns crawling and swirling around the rigged stones lining their way along the path. Bubbling, gurgling popping met both of their ears, Littlefoot's breath catching in his elongated throat. A swamp…he and Petrie had happened into a swamp…following a Hopper…and of course, there were large, expansive bubbles forming and rising to the surface before they popped.

"Oh no…"

Unknown to both of them, two wooden, thorn-less tendrils wormed their way from the bundle of sharp, dead bushes, steadily swirling and swiveling their way towards the small fledging atop the Longneck's head.

"What wrong Little-MPH!"

"Petrie?"

The Flyer didn't answer. Littlefoot looked behind him, his brown eyes widening as he observed his Pteranodon companion being dragged away by two branches, one having wrapped around his midsection rendering him flightless whilst the other secured his beak shut to silence his desperate pleas for assistance. "Petrie!" the Apatosaurus bellowed, charging towards the captive Flyer, the branches quickening their pace as they continued to drag him further along.

Through his bonds, Petrie declared it odd that the tendrils rendering him motionless didn't just drag him off out of sight when they had the chance. They always waited for the Longneck to catch up to them if he was lagging behind somewhat…as if they WANTED him to follow them to wherever their destination was.

"Don't come here, Littlefoot!" That voice…it sounded like Cera!

"No, no, no! Do not come!" Ducky! If the two were any indication, that meant Spike was more likely than not with them as well.

He wasn't going to heed their calls if they were in danger, as he had already declared in his mind that they were, yet even if he wished to obey them, it was too late to do so: as he leapt forward in a last ditch effort to snag Petrie, he fell face first in the warm, popping mud of the swamp, he shaking the goopy, watery constituent away only for his eyes to meet a sight he wished he wouldn't wish on any one of them.

Before him were his friends, Cera, Ducky, and Spike. Safe and sound, but trapped in a makeshift cage of sharp briars coiling above and the sides of them, cutting them off from the outside world. The tendrils carrying Petrie ceased their journey, they coiling around each other as if to form a small tree of sorts, only for one to separate and the other to wrap around in a circular pattern, not binding him, yet making a space to keep him contained. Once done, the branch restraining him released him to freely move around the cage they had just constructed for him.

"Guys!" Littlefoot cried out, rushing over to the closet cage to him, holding Cera. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Just run! He's waiting for you!" the Triceratops begged, she charging and scuffing her horn against the 'bars' to see if she could gain a weak area to bust through.

"No, I'm not leaving you!" he answered back, he too searching for a weakness in the thorny structure.

"Don't be stupid!" she retorted. "You can't break through this! Besides, he's after you!"

THUMP…THUMP…

"RUN!" she bellowed, yet before he could even move his mouth to declare he wasn't leaving her side, the entrance to the enclosed area was blocked by a plethora of thorny branches swirling and twisting together, creating a seemingly impenetrable blockade.

THUMP…THUMP…

Littlefoot turned from Cera, he eyes whirling and searching in all directions. Nothing. Everywhere he looked, he found nothing…yet the thunderous rumbling was unmistakable. Only question where he was now-

"I knew you'd come."

A trembling shiver crawled its way up Littlefoot's spine, tail to skull was shuddering at the deep, resounding growl of the bestial voice that by his estimation, was no further than just behind him. He never the chance to face the terror nor attempt to escape from it as he found his tail being impaled by sharp, piercing jaws and dragging him off the ground by his captured appendage. The scream traveling up his throat found freedom at that moment, yet it was quickly hushed as its owner was thrown to the side, his small body slamming against a tightly knit barrier of briars, they not allowing him passage out of the enclosure, yet they made sure to leave a good amount of cuts and grazes on his skin. Littlefoot unsteadily rose to his feet, the swamp's muddy water doing little to soothe the fresh wounds inflicted by the thorns and teeth. As he expected to his chagrin, Sharptooth loomed over him, his olive skin now even more torn away and ripped, as if the entire layer itself was steadily ripping at the seams.

"Even if they would lead you to certain death at the edge of a river of burning lava or into a inescapable pit of sinking sands…you would come to their aid." Sharptooth snarled, his prey now finally exactly where he wanted them: no possible exits, no possible chances to escape, just he and them at his utter lack of mercy.

"Why?"

The towering Tyrannosaurus Rex ceased his delighted growls, the Apatosaurus's croaking, strained cries reaching his ears.

Littlefoot looked up to the behemoth, his attempts to keep his tears contained failing miserably. "Why me!? Why any of us!? What did we do that you won't leave us alone?!"

He scoffed, then chuckled, which then broke into a full blown laughing fit. The carnivore heaved as he bellowed out loud, deep chortles at the Longneck's tearful statement, ceasing after a few moments to let his forced smile malform into a chilling glower.

"Why…WHY?!" he roared, Littlefoot's body having no choice but to shrink down and tremble. Sharptooth opened one eye, the red eyeball burning fiercely with pulsating, black veins, the pupil seemingly vibrating as if it was a heartbeat. "Oh, it wasn't much but the DAMAGE OF MY EYE!"

"It was an accident! I didn't mean to-"

"SILENCE!"

The Longneck's flapping tongue retreated to the bottom of his mouth, rendering himself silent.

"You and that Threehorn began as simple prey, nothing more, then your actions lead to my eye being rendered nearly useless! Me, a creature of the utmost prowess of strength and agility, injured by an insignificant urchin such as you?!" Sharptooth continued, coming in ever closer to the terrified Longneck. "This would not do. In fact, I was ready to end both of your lives for your insolence and had it not been for that idiot mother of yours, I would've succeeded-"

His fear died in that brief second, pure rage flaring throughout his being. "Don't you DARE talk about her like that!" Littlefoot screamed. "She would be here right now if it wasn't for you!"

The behemoth predator's antagonism halted, his small captive's burst of courage and fury bringing a gleeful, sickeningly malicious smirk to his lips.

"Is that what you've been telling yourself?"

"Wh-what?!"

"The only harm I managed to do to your mother was merely tear a small piece of flesh from her back. But…" he leaned in closer, the ebony surface hidden underneath his peeling flesh slowly having more of itself revealed. "I only saw you and that Threehorn because YOU were the one who decided to follow that Hopper to the swamp."

Littlefoot's eyes widened, his head violently shaking in response. "N-no. I didn't know-"

"You were the one who went off from where your mother was. It was only a few more hours till morning. If you would've waited just a little longer, I would've passed both of you by and not even pay you any mind, not with three Longnecks guarding one hatchling."

"We weren't doing anything! Cera and I were just playing with the bubbles! I-"

"YOU SELFISH, DEMANDING, UNGRATEFUL CHILD!"

He had no words to retort back, Sharptooth's roaring bellow only making Littlefoot retreat further back against the stone. Yet his words…the more thought he gave them, while he could've argued they weren't entirely true…he wasn't wrong either. His attempts were futile, his face contorting and brow furrowing, eyes already dispensing fresh tears.

"Don't you see now?" Sharptooth sneered "Wandering from home, scarring me with something as trivial as a thorn, disbelieving the Threehorn of how I was still breathing…" he knelt down further, his large maw right by Littlefoot's ear. "I am not to blame, you are."

That knife in his heart drew blood: Littlefoot could not contain himself any longer, his legs giving way and his once contained wails now pouring from his throat, his tear ducts intensifying their input.

The Tyrannosaurus smirked: he had succeeded. The stalwart, composed 'leader' of these troublesome pests had been broken down, completely stripped of whatever will he had left to continue this mental battle. "Oh yes, then and now is all YOUR doing…" he continued, raising himself high.

Cera had been attempting to burst from her wooden prison the entire time, yet seeing the Apatosaurus weeping on the ground and Sharptooth steadily raising his massive head…she knew well what he was planning to do. She had to get out, she had to protect him! Thrusting her horn into the multitude of 'bars' she had seen that one, lone branch in front of her had developed a small crack. A weak point she could take advantage of. Yet she was beginning to regret her previous thrashing as almost all of her strength had left her…

'Don't give up. You can do it.'

Her green eyes shot up wide, her domed head shifting in all directions in search of the voice she had just heard. She found it odd: she didn't recognize it as anyone she knew, yet its feminine, motherly tone…she sensed a familiarity to it.

'Hurry now! My Littlefoot needs you!'

Her Littlefoot? No…she couldn't be…

'Keep trying! You're the only one that can save him!'

She didn't question it anymore, instantly obeying her instructions and continually slamming her head against the dome of the briars. More and more branches shook and cracked, her cage nearly broken and freedom only a few more swift knocks and she would obtain freedom!

Ahead of her, Sharptooth chuckled at the broken Longneck beneath him, the small dinosaur already having accepted that this horrid nightmare had no escape. He opened his gigantic maw, rows of sharpened fangs ready to pierce through his fragile mind. "The only generous offer you can give is suffering with the rest of them!" he lunged forward.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!"

Note: I'm sorry, but it looks like one more chapter is needed to finish this off. I'm the type of person that if I see something a certain way, it HAS to be that way or it isn't right or as good as it could be, and though a fan story, I take my writing very seriously. So sorry, but it's just one more, I promise! Read and review please! Thank you!


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Hello, guys! Final chapter is here, and we can literally end this nightmare! Not that writing this thing hasn't been enjoyable for me. Anyhow, thank you all for the feedback, here is my gift to you!

LBT © of Universal

She knew that she had at least a slight amount of success as her horn managed to seemingly pierce Sharptooth's flesh, the behemoth predator bellowing a surprised yelp as he stepped backwards, allowing the attacking Triceratops to act as both sword and shield to the shaken Apatosaurus.

Cera looked back to the still trembling Littlefoot, startled by her sudden appearance yes, yet whatever will he had was apparently stripped from him by his aggressor. "Get up!" she ordered; yet her demand came out more akin to a desperate plea.

"He's right…" he could only reply, his head still low. "It-it's my fault. If…if I didn't go so far…then-then he wouldn't have found us-"

"I was there too! Remember what you told me? We both did things that we shouldn't have!" Cera reasoned, the Tyrannosaurus Rex steadily making his way to his feet, the gash the Threehorn created opening up further and further, the slick, black substance underneath contrasting even more with his dark green scales.

"But I hurt his eye! This…all of this…my fault…" Littlefoot continued to choke out. "All my fault…"

"Don't let your mother's work be for nothing!"

The weeping Longneck's sniffs and unsteady breaths caught in his throat. "Wh-what'd you say?"

Finally, she was getting through to him! "We made to the Great Valley because of you, Littlefoot! You kept us together! Where I failed, YOU succeeded!"

"But…Mother-"

Cera opened her mouth to answer him, yet whatever words of comfort or encouragement never had the chance to form on her tongue, her throat instead bellowing a shrill scream as she felt multiple sharp objects sink into the flesh of her tail.

"CERA!" Littlefoot hollered, the small Triceratops ensnared in Sharptooth's jaws, his hold strong and firm, yet still.

Cera felt the predator's teeth still embedded in her tail, yet she knew well that from the painful sensations coursing through her trapped appendage that he hadn't completely pierced it. He held her upward, his maw being the only support she had yet given how high she already was off the ground, gravity was not being kind to her as its pull for her to return to the earth below only strengthened the searing tear the piercing fangs were causing to her tail. Despite the wetness in her tear ducts, her throat pleading, demanding, threatening her to release her trapped voice and scream to the high heavens, she kept her mouth shut. Littlefoot was the one suffering now; she had to be strong for him. Sharptooth sank his teeth in deeper, Cera's flat teeth grinding furiously against each other, eyes steadily becoming wetter and wetter, but she would not cry. Threehorns didn't cry. Not when they needed to be strong.

He didn't know if he even had the strength Cera was displaying, yet Littlefoot knew well that she wouldn't last much longer. Getting to his feet, he let his body charge forward, his flat head lowered and facing forward. Sharptooth needn't ask who his attacker was as the small Longneck beneath him was repeatedly knocking himself into the behemoth's muscular, but torn leg.

"LET HER GO! NOW!" the Apatosaurus demanded, the trapped Triceratops looking down to her rescuer, her large, emerald eyes finally allowing tears to fall, yet not due to the pain she was experiencing.

Littlefoot rammed again. "Didn't you hear me?! Put her down!"

He obliged…by roughly tossing the Threehorn to the thick, dark muddy earth below, her backside colliding with the thorny enclosure entrapping Ducky. The Swimmer made her way to the edge of her cage to inspect the condition of her friend, yet her foot apparently losing placement as she felt her body thrust forward, her prison soon becoming her aid as she grasped a briar to keep her upright. Her leg had now sunk knee deep in the bubbling, thick mud, yet she then took notice to a strange factor when she felt her toes brush against the lower part of the winded branches: it seemed to stop around that point, or rather, there was a deeper section of the swamp that the briars couldn't reach down far enough to root.

Gently pushing her way under the surface, Ducky found that while it was possible to maneuver through the thick substance, her speed was greatly delayed and the density of the mud was clearly hampering her eyesight. Nevertheless, she found that she could indeed swim under the edge of the cage, her head breaking the surface and finding herself free from her imprisonment, and a staggering Cera beside her.

"Cera!" she called, the Threehorn steadily rising upright, her unsteady legs attempting to keep themselves still. "Are you all right?"

"I…I think so. But Littlefoot, he-"

SPLASH!  
Both Swimmer and Threehorn needn't look back to know whose attention they had just gained. Yet amidst the tremor nearly knocking them off their feet, both heard another set of steps behind them.

'Littlefoot…' she echoed in his mind, his sprinting body ready and willing with all the power he could muster to strike the behemoth predator. 'Let them free the others…'

"Okay, Mother." He lightly muttered, his voice becoming strained due to the exertion he was placing on his small form.

'Think of me, dear…' she cooed, her voice steadily fading. 'Think of me…and you will have the strength…'

Sharptooth towered over Ducky and Cera, the Triceratops shielding the smaller, more demure dinosaur with her pale, yellow body, her tail's injuries being coated and surprisingly soothed by the thick mud.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex expressed amusement at her display of prowess, a deep, rumbling chuckle traveling out of his throat. "I don't understand you creatures." He stepped forward. "Why do you only insist on making your suffering worse?"

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

Sharptooth had expected the Apatosaurus would come for him once again, yet what managed to catch him off guard was his entire mass being forced to the warm, wet lake of mud by a mere head butt from the far smaller hatchling.

"Littlefoot, what are you doing?!" Cera questioned, the Longneck pushing her and Ducky away.

"Hurry! Go get Petrie and Spike out of those things! I'll hold him off!"

"What?! No way! You can't-"

The carnivore was angrily thrusting his form forward, clawed feet tearing through the soft soil underneath in order to hoist himself upright and bipedal once again.

"Go!" Littlefoot ordered.

"But-"

"GO!"

With a rough push to both their backsides, the girls knew well that the Longneck had no intention of backing down from his decision. Looking back to the approaching Sharptooth, Littlefoot inhaled a large intake of air, images and visions of his mother's battle entering his mind, her displays of strength, the entire essence of her power…he needed it more than ever now.

"So, where to first?" Cera huffed, her legs sprinting towards the two collections of briars ahead of them, Ducky fruitlessly holding onto her grooved back.

Seeing the two prisons steadily becoming more and more clear, the Swimmer looked to the large dome to the right, then to the smaller, raised entrapment to the left.

"Why do we not split up?" she sputtered out, her carrier turning her head to her passenger.

"What do you mean, 'split up'?"

"I mean we split apart and-"

"I know what it means, but why?"

"Well, look!" Ducky motioned, pointing ahead. "Spike's cage is too big for me to tear through, but you can do it, yep, yep, yep! I could try to get into Petrie's cage! I'm small enough to climb up, I am!"

She would've retorted with how since she was the one with the strength to break through the briars as the Swimmer herself pointed out, yet Ducky hopped off her back and immediately trotted forward through the mud to the high enclose keeping her Pteranodon companion captured. She in turn saw no other course of action but to make her way towards Spike. She knew in a sense why Ducky had suggested such a tactic: both of them dealing with each individual trapped together would more likely than not use valuable time, as Littlefoot was the only thing keeping Sharptooth off their backs, and if his Mother's words rang true in what she told the Triceratops, then he would need all of them with him, and in Cera's mind, no time like the present.

"Spike!" the Stegosaurus lifted his head, his sitting position undone by his body rising as he saw no sense in wasting his energy in struggling against what seemed to be unbreakable bonds.

Cera quickened her speed, her horn positioned forward; Spike instantly catching onto what she intended to do. Backing up against the very edge of the thorny branches, Cera's signature feature smashed against the twisted collection of dead wood, the entire dome vibrating and shaking with force, yet the bars still held firm.

"Hold on!" she sighed, slightly winded from her exertion. "Just…just give me a few moments!"

She ran back a little ways, turning around and once again charging against the briars, yielding the same result.

"Okay…" Cera moaned. "This time for sure!"

Spike examined the area of which she had been bashing: while indeed, the branches didn't seem close to snapping in the slightest, he did begin to notice small indentions being made, yet they appeared to be showing up on the insides of the cage. In fact, they looked as if he could break them himself…yet with what?

Cera had speeded back up a good ways from the cage, the thick mud impairing her usual speed, yet she was confident that she would be able to break through the bonds at this distance: she HAD to be confident as she saw no other option.

"Okay…" she inhaled, digging her heels and scrapping whatever ground she could. "This time…for sure!" With that, she charged.

The Threehorn didn't exactly know how quickly of pace she was going, yet the exact number didn't matter to her at the moment: it just had to be fast enough. Prowling forward, her small legs pumped and stomped their way through the thick coating of soft dirt as she only shifted her gaze up for the briefest of moments just to verify where her horn was being directed. She was close now, the collection of briars now in full view…

"Hold on, Spike!" she bellowed, only inches away now. "I'm coming, AHHH!"

When she felt her horn make contact with nothing in front of her, she knew she had overshot her amount of strength, yet the realization came far too late as both she and the Spiketail were sent tumbling out of the other side of the cage, breaking through the bars and leaving both lying face first in the muddy pool surrounding them.

Spike didn't wish to lift his head, knowing full well what awaited him, yet any lashing from the Triceratops, whether it'd be physical or verbal, was inevitable. "Spike?" he heard, Cera shaking the thick coating of mud from her face. "Look…I-" she took a second to spew out whatever mud had found its way into her mouth. "I'm not mad but…how in the world did you get out of there?"

He looked towards his previous prison, then to her, the dull taste of briars still fresh on his tongue…

"Petrie!" The Pteranodon's head lifted up, feeling his enclosure slightly bending and vibrating, he directing the source being something from down below.

"Ducky!" He cried out, openly welcoming the Swimmer's presence with open wings as the small, green reptile was climbing up the briar cage, her nails holding firm in the wood and having to use the multiple thorns as makeshift stairs, being mindful of where she stepped.

Hoisting herself up, she now stood face-to-face level with the trapped Flier, both of them greeting each other with wide, silent grins.

"Do not worry!" she assured him, stretching herself upward and ducking, analyzing and searching throughout the entire construction of the 'bird cage' to find any possible weakness she could exploit. "I will find a way to get you out, I will!"

"Cage too strong!" he remarked, fluttering and flying around the cage in attempts to once again find a weakness. "See? Me no can get through."

Ducky looked downward, her large, aqua blue eyes being drawn away from the circular dome and to the swirling, twisted collection of branches holding it up.

"Petrie, wait a moment. I think I know how to set you free!"

She began to trek down the way she came, ultimately settling to let herself drop downward to save time. Studying the thinness of the briars, her plan of attack was indeed coming to light. She knew HOW she could free her friend; the only question remaining was HOW would SHE be the one to do it?

"One…two…" she steadied herself, her knees bending and arms raising up, palms facing forward. "THREE!"

Ducky dashed forward, forcing all of her strength on the thin stem of the cage. Petrie immediately felt the effects of the Swimmer's attempts to bring down his prison, his small body rocking back and forth from her force, he soon having to hold down to the very briars trapping him to secure him to one spot.

"Hold on, Petrie!" she called to him. "I am almost done, I am!"

"Me…ugh!" he began, losing his grip and once again being slung around the enclosure. "Me know but…ouch! Please…hurry!"

"Hold it, Ducky!"

The green dinosaur momentarily ceased her attempts to take down the smaller tower, instantly recognizing the voice addressing her.

"Cera! Spike! You are out!" she exclaimed, quickly rushing over to greet her sibling with an affectionate embrace, the green Spiketail returning the favor with a small, gentle nudge to her small figure.

"Let us handle this, squirt." Cera assured, looking upward to the trapped Flier. "Hang on, Petrie! Freedom's just a few bites away!"

"Few…bites?" The Pteranodon's mind was befuddled by what the Triceratops's solution for releasing him was; yet his wondering was halted by the sounds of loud, rhythmic chewing reaching his small, hidden ears.

Spike wasn't at all eager to renew the taste of the dry, rotten wood in his mouth, yet if they had any chance of being reunited with each other, his palette would ultimately have to take a lower priority.

"Okay, Spike! Keep chewing!" Cera ordered, the collected bits of wood and thorns being chomped into, chewed up, and then spit out.

The process continued to repeat itself until the stem was little more than a few singular briars holding up the cage, its occupant already feeling the swaying and fight with gravity taking place from above.

Unable to take anymore, Spike was more than grateful when Cera saw fit to step in, running a little bit away from the cage to get herself a good enough distance.

"Ducky?" Petrie inquired his grounded, green companion, fearful worry growing in his large, expansive eyes.

"Yes, Petrie?"

"How…how hard Cera hit to get me out?"

"Um…" she looked to the barely kept together stem, worn down mainly by Spike's teeth. "I do not think too hard. I mean, it is not too thick-"

SMASH!

Petrie allowed the scream he was preparing to release escape his beak, the mud below silencing him however, it being translated into bubbles rising to the surface. Ducky ran to the Flier, the crash opening up a passage for her to squeeze through, she searching for his small form amidst the wet, warm mud.

"Mmm…" a small gurgle came from underneath her, she soon stepping off, allowing the Pteranodon to rise to the surface, a large gasp for air being allowed to travel through his lungs.

His legs hopping to the side, the predator's snapping jaws were only mere inches away from seizing the Longneck's small form. Littlefoot, while keeping his Mother's battle with the Tyrannosaurus Rex fresh in his mind, the best he seemed he could muster was only sending the behemoth dinosaur tumbling to the ground, only for him to regain his footing and upright position not long after. Though he didn't doubt Cera's ability in the slightest to free the others, he wouldn't be dishonest in saying that the quicker done, the better.

"You're just as stubborn as your fool mother!" Sharptooth roared, whatever enjoyment he had gained from his chase of the small Apatosaurus was steadily transforming into frustration and impatience.

"If you remember…" Littlefoot replied, still keeping his body and the ready for any move the carnivore would make. "It was the Earth Shake that took her from me! You couldn't even take her out!"

"Shut up…"

"All you did was take off some skin while she knocked you off a cliff-"

"SHUT UP!"

As fortunate as he had been throughout the span of time he began evading his attempts to catch him, Littlefoot failed to account for watching for anything else other than his teeth. Sharptooth rose his left leg and quickly trapped the small Longneck under his weight, his tail becoming weighted and crushed under the sole of the massive, talon bearing foot.

"What was it you said? All I managed was to take off some skin?" he growled, his tearing mouth salivating at the lovely image quickly coming to fruition in his mind.

Whatever confidence the small Longneck had was quickly fleeting, his attention now focused on using whatever amount of strength he had left to release himself from the predator's hold.

"I wonder…" Sharptooth snarled, leaned downward, large, eager maw beside the Longneck's small, inner earholes. "How do you taste compared to her?"

Then he dove.

Littlefoot's senses didn't comprehend what was happening exactly, because the combination of shock and terror immediately clouded his mind the moment it happened. All he knew, however, was that there was a massive amount of pressure being applied to his long back. He felt multiple, sharp points make their way through his flesh, yet the spine underneath lay untouched, a gentle pull being all it took to relieve him of whatever the multiple daggers of bone had wished to claim.

"LITTLEFOOT!"

'That voice…Cera?'

Sharptooth rose his foot from the Apatosaurus's tail, viewing his handiwork on the hatchling's backside: a large, diagonal cut of grey skin was ripped from his body, warm, red muscle being greeted by the swamp's thick, moist air and blood being allowed to run freely from the wound.

Cera wasted no time in hurrying towards the wounded Longneck, quickly motioning for Spike to hoist him onto her back. Sharptooth snapped at the four newcomers, yet they dove out of the way just in time as they began to make their way towards the thicket of briars. That plan, however, was soon rendered useless as Sharptooth leapt out in front of them, yet surprisingly, on the other side of the tangled mess of dead wood and thorns.

"Do you wish to continue this game, or will you all finally accept that you're resting place is my jaws?" he called back to them, all five steadily backing up as their route of escape had been cut off.

"You…" Cera began, reminding herself of whom exactly lay on her back, injured by the monstrous predator. "You're already dead! You can't do anything to us!"

The Tyrannosaurus Rex didn't spout for her to silence her tongue, nor did he reward her retort with a roar or chop with his massive jaws. Instead, she heard a deep, rumbling chuckle growing in the dinosaur's throat, it soon exploding into full blown, unhinged bellows of laughter.

"Oh you, poor, pathetic creatures!" he howled back, making his way forward through the thicket, the reason for his position then becoming clear to all of them.

Sharptooth stomped slowly towards them, his already splitting, tearing skin snagging on the barbed tips of the thorns, quite literally pulling his tough, scaled hide apart at the seams.

"Throughout your journey to The Great Valley….you would've provided me food, though not much…" he stepped, forward, the entire section of his foreleg being ripped off. "In fact, I doubted that such a place even existed…so if my last act on Earth was achieving vengeance, then so be it."

He continued forward, more and more skin being torn and removed from his body, smooth, black texture being revealed from underneath. All four hatchlings froze, whatever courage stored in them steadily depleting.

"While I didn't expect that you, of all creatures would succeed in ending my life…and I was enraged at first in my last fleeting moments on this Earth…" More and more of his flesh was being stripped off his body. "Yet upon death…I found that the limitations of this world were cast off in the next…"

Cera began to feel Littlefoot stir atop her back, a low moan escaping his lips as he steadily became aware of the ever approaching carnivore.

"And even more…" he growled, the last of what was left of his previous life leaving him. "I found that you all DID feed me in life. I fed on your fears. Your fear of death…your fear of never finding you families…your fear of not finding food…and most importantly…"with one last step, the last of his dried, green husk was torn from him. "Your fear of me."

Though paralyzed with dread and anticipation before, the five small dinosaurs now felt their legs more ready than ever to sprint off into whatever distance or direction, just as long as it was away from what stood before them: the Tyrannosaurus Rex that had menaced them in life was like his skin, gone. What stood before them now resembled him in shape and size, yet it bore elements so alien and unearthly to them all that it was fitting that such a creature would come to torment them in a nightmare of all things. A towering, snarling animal of black looked down on them, his skin a strange, smooth texture, slick and bearing no scales or ridges as his previous body had, yet if what he said was true, he had little use for such a thing anymore. His eyes, whilst red before, now bore a shining, iridescent quality to them, eyeballs hot and burning with an intense, red glow, pupil-less and wide with hunger.

"I am you deepest, darkest fears…" he growled, all five obeying their instincts finally and sprinting the opposite direction of the behemoth.

This was of little matter to him as he knelt down and sprung forward, leaping directing in front of them.

"I am the collection of everything that has ailed you…"

They all attempted to escape yet again, yet they were not as fortunate as before, the Tyrannosaurus Rex's tail swiftly catching them all off guard and knocking them back against the stone wall that he had cornered the Longneck previously.

"I may have been a terror to you in life…" he stomped forward, massive maw salivating. "But in death…I've become much, much more." He lifted his head up high, his throat releasing a thunderous, explosive roar. "YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME WHEN I EXIST IN YOUR OWN MINDS!"

'Littlefoot…'

The Apatosaurus's senses had yet to fully return to him, but he needed no redirection to know whom was currently speaking to him.

'Littlefoot…'

"M-Mother?"

'Now it is time. You are all together.'

"Mother…what do we do?"

'You must fight him. You must banish him from this place.'

"Mother, he's too strong! We can't-"

'You must! If you do not, he will never leave! He will continue to haunt you until the day you come to join me!'

Littlefoot's arguing and retorts died in his throat, knowing well that whatever he replied with would be useless. He knew well that she spoke the truth: he was limitless now, and he had access to their subconscious, their most inner dwelling, and given how much he tormented them in life, he quite literally had near an eternity to do it in death…or at least until their deaths.

"What do we do?"

'Don't you remember what your Threehorn friend said?'

Yes, of course! How could he have forgotten?

"I know…but he's so strong now…"

'It doesn't matter. He is only as strong as you allow him to be. He cannot torment you in life anymore, he has no right to torment you now.'

"I…we'll try, Mother."

'I know you'll succeed. Have faith in them, dearest Littlefoot. Have faith…'

Cera looked back to her friend still stationed on her back, confused yet able to figure who he was engaged in a conversation with due to her own previous experience. She then felt him stir. Lifting his head slowly, he saw the towering, skinless predator before them, snarling with glee and lips curled into a malicious, excitable grin.

"Oh, what's this?" he observed, Littlefoot having finally and completely come to. "Ah, good. I had hoped that you of all present would be here to witness this…"

The Longneck began to make his way off the Threehorn's back, the ache in his back as well as the sensitivity of his nerves due to his missing skin flared his pain more than he would've liked.

"Littlefoot-" Cera began to protest, yet with one turn of his head, she knew that ultimately, there was no redirecting whatever course of action he had planned.

Looking upward and the black, towering behemoth, he sighed and let his throat remain silent while his brain scrambled for the right words to declare.

"I grow weary of this game, so you might as well-"

"Get out."

Sharptooth held his tongue, his impatience and eagerness now befuddled and consumed by confusion. Yet despite this, he felt something else beginning to develop in him, something that seemed to be powered by the Apatosaurus's statement.

"You're not welcome here." Littlefoot continued. "These are our minds, and you can't hurt us anymore."

It grew with every word he spoke, could it be…no! It couldn't! He REFUSED to acknowledge such a notion! Sharptooth responded to his prey's command with a low, growling chuckle. "Your foolish courage hasn't kept you safe from me so far, what good will it do now? I don't take orders from YOU, Flathead."

'Keeping going dear.'

"You're not allowed to come here. Get out of our minds."

"I don't plan on going ANYWHERE."

"You're not allowed here! Get out!"

The Tyrannosaurus Rex lunged forward, yet his pounce was interrupted: the strange element that had developed inside him now apparently was physically affecting him. He knew not the words to describe the sensation, yet he likened to his presence, his very existence…being erased.

The five hatchlings began to sense this phenomenon as well, their once dismal acceptance of their fate now being chipped and thrust upon by the small, but bright and powerful glimmer of the hope now that seemed to lie in their grasp.

Cera stepped forward, that stubborn and prideful; yet determined strength having finally returned to her. "Yeah, get out!" she hollered. "You can't hurt us anymore!"

These words…he didn't understand how or why, yet he knew that there was a strange power behind them. Every recitation of this seemingly useless incantation brought forth with it more and more depletion of his own prowess.

Both Threehorn and Longneck looked to each other, nodding before repeating the mantra once again. "Get out! You're not welcome here!" they cried out in unison.

Sharptooth had to act fast: they were truly doing it, they were ACTUALLY damaging him!

"Get out! You're not welcome here!"

"Quiet."

"Get out! You're not welcome here!"

"Quiet!"

"Get out! You're not welcome here!"

"I said QUIET!"

Seeing the once terrifying predator growing more and more panicked at the two dinosaurs, Ducky felt herself begin to move forward, taking a place beside Littlefoot.

"Get out! You are not welcome here! No, no, no, no!"

Sharptooth felt his legs begin to give out from under him, his strength steadily being sapped away from his body.

"Shut up…" he growled, attempting to the best of his ability to conceal the growing panic in his voice.

"Get out! You're not welcome-"

"SHUT UP!" he roared, his huge jaws springing open and ready to chomp on their flesh.

"Get out!" another voice rang out. Petrie fluttered his way beside Ducky, she taken aback when he wrapped his wings around her body, as if he was substituting them for a shield. "You no welcome here!"

"STOP IT!" the blackened predator demanded, his body now visibly starting to change.

The once black mass began to seemingly chip and flake, the smooth, charcoal surface of his new body breaking apart Akin to wood that had been resting in fire for far too long, his large, once powerful form was steadily being dissolving in the flames of the children's collective mantra.

"Mmhm!" a low mummer replied with the rest of the hatchlings, Spike making his way to the rest and stationing himself beside the yellow Triceratops.

"It's over, Sharptooth." Littlefoot stated, the Tyrannosaurus Rex only responding with a hate-filled glower, red eyes once brightly shining now only reduced to a dull glimmer. "We take back each and every amount of power we gave you."

"Do…" the predator breathed, his throat gravely and sounding as if he was struggling for air. "Do you think that this will banish me for good? I'm unlimited now…"

"Then go be unlimited somewhere else. You're not allowed to be here."

They couldn't possibly do it, he refused to accept it. They were just mere children, and useless leaf-eaters no less! Standing on his haunches, the carnivorous reptile let his jaws loose, springing himself forward and his rows of teeth ready to collect them all in his maw…

The moment never came.

The second he reached them, all five children watched as the Tyrannosaurus Rex literally collapsed in front of them, black body breaking apart into several, uneven sections of flakey, thin fibers that were soon captured and blown away by a strong breeze that had just entered the area from seemingly nowhere. All pairs of eyes turned to each other, though the sight before them signaled to them what had just transpired, they still could not understand entirely that it had.

"Is…" Cera began, voice unusually shaky. "Is it over? Is he finally gone?"

'Yes…he is gone.'

All five dinosaurs nearly leapt out their skin upon hearing the voice resound throughout the area, the voice in turn laughing heartily at their display.

'Hahaha…sorry. I'd imagine your nerves are already on edge after all you've been through.'

Though the voice's identity was a mystery to most of them, Cera and Littlefoot knew full well whom was speaking to them.

"M-Mother?" the Longneck inquired.

'Yes. It's me, dear.'

The darkened, cloud covered sky was then pieced through by a small, yet apparently effective ray of light, a small object fluttering down slowly from above. Upon further examination, the Longneck's eyes widened, the small object no mystery to him.

It was a Treestar. His Treestar.

The leaf slowly fluttered down until it found itself a resting place in the thick mud down below. To the surprise and bewildered awe of all five children, the leaf began to steadily dissolve into the mud, yet upon doing so, the viscous mixture of dirt and water steadily began to loosen and liquefy. The dull brown began to fade, steadily replaced with a clear, clean and shining aqua, the mud pool having been converted into a pure, sparkling body of water.

The briars surrounding them began to brighten in color, the wood seemingly being gifted life, this new development allowing fertile, healthy leafs to sprout from the stems once holding nothing. The thorns lining the branches grew fat, swelling at the bottom until they literally burst open, beautiful, hot pink petals being set free from their prisons and allowing their pride to be put on display for all to see.

The once dark, ominous clouds hanging above their heads were being pierced through by more and more beams of light, clearing away the consuming vapor, a clear, blue plane of atmosphere covering the entire area.

'How do you like it?' the voice asked, all five left silent.

'Its all right. You've been through so much already…'

Littlefoot looked up to the Heavens, eyes searching fruitlessly for any physical sign of her, though he inwardly knew he would find none. Nevertheless, he had things he needed to say.

"Mother?" he began. "Is…is he really gone?"

Silence perpetuated throughout the entire plane before they received an answer.

'For now, but he was right in what he said: you haven't banished him for good.'

"Well…" Cera started, her once welcomed sense of triumph steadily depleting. "How do we know when he'll come back?"

'Unfortunately, you don't. But it's nothing to fret over. You know now what to do whenever he DOES present himself.'

Though ideally he wished that the predator's banishment would've been permanent, his Mother's words offered at least a reasonable amount of comfort in that they now HAD a liable weapon of sorts.

"Only thing is…" Littlefoot muttered, brown eyes scanning the lush, fertile section of paradise that had quite literally sprung up from all around them. "Now what?"

He heard his mother chuckle, though through it, he detected her voice was fading. 'What now? Well…' she knew she had to leave soon, so she had to make this quick. 'The night's still young, and it is still a good few hours before the Great Circle rises…' she was slipping back into her resting place, she having already spent too much time in her past world already. 'So…I say your time here is only limited…to how high you wishes rise…'

Silence. "Mother?" No answer. He didn't bother asking again, knowing well she had to leave, though he'd be lying if he didn't say that even now, a part of him wished he could go with her.

The Longneck turned to the dinosaurs beside him, ironic that each of them bore traits of exhaustion despite the fact that technically, they were all unconscious.

"Well, what do you want to do first?" he asked.

"I found them!" Petrie's mother alerted, the other parents and single pair of grandparents rushing forward, her voice rather urgent in its tone.

Yet upon reaching their destination, any sense of worry or tension had immediately died. There they were: all five, huddled together in one, collective heap, bodies close to or wrapped around one another, almost no space between them, creating an almost defensive wall where nothing could separate them. All present couldn't help but find the sight both relieving, yet also comforting: all five slumbering hatchlings were resting with content, worry-free expressions, not one muscle twitching or moving in the slightest.

"Well…" Topsy began, eyeing his Cera. "What now?"

"Leave them." Grandpa stated, he beginning to turn back to return to his nocturnal haven. "They aren't going anywhere, and besides…" he turned one last time, viewing his grandson having finally achieved the peace he had been praying for him to attain. "They're where they need to be right now it seems."

Grandpa left, Grandma following suit, with Ducky's parents then trekking back to the swimming hole. Petrie's mother fluttered back to her nest, leaving Topsy to admit that it was best to go back to his resting place as well, having not the heart nor energy to disturb his Cera.

The five children were completely unaware of their guardian's presence, they still caught up in the private paradise they had just recently accessed. What they partook in and attempted in that shared dream was only known to them and them alone, yet in that moment, for however long before the Great Circle would rose them from their sleep, they would do good to enjoy this precious gift, that gift being how they were able to conquer nightmares in paradise.

Note: Title drop is lame, I know, but…it's finally done! Probably my first completed work for awhile, but I hope you guys have enjoyed this little fic, and hopefully you all will enjoy some of my bigger projects!


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